Effect of exposure to O<inf>3</inf>, NO<inf>2</inf>, and SO<inf>2</inf> on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalizations in Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Air pollution in cities is a serious environmental problem especially in the developing countries. We examined the associations between gaseous pollutants and hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) among people living in Tabriz, a city in north western of Iran. We used the approach proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) using the AirQ 2.2.3 software developed by the WHO European Center for Environment and Health, Bilthoven Division. To assess human exposure and health effect, data were used for ozone as a1h average; for nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide as daily average concentrations. The association between air pollution and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was assessed using AirQ 2.2.3 model. The results of this study showed that 3 % (95 % CI 1.2–4.8 %) of HA COPD were attributed to O<inf>3</inf> concentrations over 10 ?g/m3. Also, 0.9 % (95 % CI 0.1–2.2 %) and 0.4 % (95 % CI 0–1.1 %) of HA COPD were attributed to NO<inf>2</inf> and SO<inf>2</inf> concentrations over 10 ?g/m3, respectively. For every 10 ?g/m3 increase in O<inf>3</inf>, NO<inf>2</inf>, and SO<inf>2</inf> concentrations, the risk of HA COPD increase to about 0.58, 0.38, and 0.44 %, respectively. We found significant positive associations between the levels of all air pollution and hospital admissions COPD. Otherwise, O<inf>3</inf>, NO<inf>2</inf>, and SO<inf>2</inf> have a significant impact on COPD hospitalization. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.