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Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal Air pollution and hospital admissions for myocardial infarction in a tropical city: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal

Cheng MF, Tsai SS, Yang CY
2009
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part A. 72 (19): 1135-1140

This study was undertaken to determine whether there was an association between air pollutant levels and increased hospital admissions for myocardial infarction (MI) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Hospital admissions for MI and ambient air pollution data for Kaohsiung were obtained for the period 1996-2006. The relative risk of hospital admissions was estimated using a case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. In the single-pollutant models, on warm days (>25°C), statistically significant positive associations were found in all pollutants except particulate matter (PM10) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). On cool days (<25°C), all pollutants were significantly associated with MI admissions except for ozone (O3). For the two-pollutant model, O3 and carbon monoxide (CO) were significant in combination with each of the other four pollutants on warm days. On cool days, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) remained statistically significant in all the two-pollutant models. This study provides evidence that higher levels of ambient air pollutants increase the risk of higher frequency of hospital admissions for MI.

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Resource Description

    Air Pollution, Meteorological Factor, Temperature
    • Air Pollution, Meteorological Factor, Temperature: Ground-Level Ozone, Particulate Matter, Other Air Pollution, Specify
      • Ground-Level Ozone, Particulate Matter, Other Air Pollution, Specify: CO; NO2; SO2
      Air Pollution (other)
    • Air Pollution, Meteorological Factor, Temperature: Variability
    Ocean/Coastal, Urban
    Non-United States
    • Non-United States: Asia
    Cardiovascular Impact
    • Cardiovascular Impact: Heart Attack/Myocardial Infarction
    Research Article
    Adaptation
    • Adaptation: Adaptation Co-Benefit/Co-Harm, Vulnerability Assessment
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