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KMID : 1156220120380030184
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Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
2012 Volume.38 No. 3 p.184 ~ p.194
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The Effect of Air Pollution on Allergic Diseases Considering Meteorological Factors in Metropolitan Cities in Korea
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Kim Hyo-Mi
Heo Jin-A
Park Yoon-Hyung
Lee Jong-Tae
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Abstract
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Objectives: We investigated the effects of air pollution on allergic diseases (allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis) in metropolitan cities in Korea, adjusting for meteorological factors.
Methods: Data on daily hospital visits and hospital admissions for 2003-2010 was obtained from the National Health Insurance Cooperation. Meteorological data was obtained from the Korea Meteorological Administration. We then calculated daily mean temperature, daily mean humidity, daily mean air pressure at sea level, and diurnal temperature range. We used data on air pollution provided by the National Institute of Environmental Research. Maximum daily eight-hour average ozone concentrations and the daily mean PM10 were used. We estimated excess risk and 95% confidence interval for the increasing interquatile range (IQR) of each air pollutant using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) that appropriate for time series analysis.
Results: In this study, we observed an association between ozone and hospital visits for allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis in all metropolitan cities, adjusting for temperature, humidity, air pressure at sea level, diurnal temperature range, and day of the week. Ozone was associated with hospital visits for allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis across all metropolitan cities. However PM10 was associated with allergic-related diseases in only select cities. Also, ozone and PM10 were associated with hospital admission for asthma in all cities except Gwangju. Hospitalization for the other diseases failed to show consistent association with air pollutants.
Conclusion: In the findings of this study, there was a significant association between air pollutants and allergicrelated diseases. More detailed research subdivided age group or conducting meta-analyses combining data of all cities is required.
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KEYWORD
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PM10, O3, allergic diseases, hospital admission, hospital visit
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