Major pollutants in the atmosphere are fine
particles, CO2, hydrocarbons, NOx, CO and SO2.
The atmospheric pollution would increase morbidity and mortality rates for
various respiratory illnesses in urban areas, and could also be an
explanatory factor of higher rates of myocardial infarction in Charleroi
compared with the other Belgian cities. And analysis of the relation between
atmospheric pollutants and health problems is complex both as regards
methodological approaches and the difficulties in approaching data often
collected with very different purposes.
In this study, the authors investigated the
health effects of acute exposure to air pollution on cardiovascular
morbidity/mortality in Charleroi. The study was based on comparing hospital
data taken from the registry of ischaemic cardiopathies in Charleroi (1999 to
2008) to data on the air quality in this region. To measure the association
between atmospheric pollution and the number of cases of myocardial infarction,
Poisson regression was carried out. The excess risk of myocardial infarction
was analyzed according to the month of admission.
For men, a decrease in the attack rate of
myocardial infarction was visible during the first three years of the study,
later to remain stable. For women, attack rates were stable throughout the
study. Most of the pollutants varied according to season. Except for ozone,
concentrations were generally higher in winter. And there was an association
between the concentrations of PM10 and NO2 and
morbidity/mortality by acute myocardial infarction. The increased risk for
an increase of 10 μg/m3 of pollutant was 1.8% for PM10 and
4.0% for NO2. Multivariate models must still be developed and
applied to our data.
Finally, it’s recommended that it would be
necessary in the future to analyze the effects of the weight of atmospheric
pollution on the coronary pathology compared to the environmental specificities
(social, economic, cultural and physical) of the population of this urban area.
Full
access: http://mrw.so/27thB6
Image
by awqeleann, from Flickr-cc.
评论
发表评论