title: Effect of exposure to O₃ , NO₂, and SO₂ 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 O3 concentrations over 10 μg/m(3). Also, 0.9 % (95 % CI 0.1-2.2 %) and 0.4 % (95 % CI 0-1.1 %) of HA COPD were attributed to NO2 and SO2 concentrations over 10 μg/m(3), respectively. For every 10 μg/m(3) increase in O3, NO2, and SO2 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, O3, NO2, and SO2 have a significant impact on COPD hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Department of East Azerbaijan Province Health Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, ghanbary.mo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ghanbari
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Ghozikali
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mosaferi
authors.forename: Gholam Hossein
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.forename: Jalil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaafari
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D000397:Air Pollution; D002947:Cities; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D010126:Ozone / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D010126:Ozone; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide