The effects of air pollution on acute respiratory conditions

Objective: Air pollution and its potential health effects are very important worldwide. It is particularly problematic in densely populated cities of developing countries that suffer from a lack of both short- and long-term programmes for air pollution control. We decided to study the short-term effects of air pollution on lung health by assessing the relationship between the levels of six air pollutants and emergency visits for asthma and COPD exacerbations in Tehran, Iran. Methodology: We monitored the daily attendances for acute respiratory conditions (asthma attacks and COPD exacerbations) to the emergency departments of five major hospitals together with the daily concentrations of six major pollutants during a 5-month period in Tehran. The association between these acute respiratory conditions and the levels of air pollutants was determined by multiple stepwise regression. Results: A correlation was observed between the number of hospital admissions for asthma and the weekly mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide (P< 0.05). The 3-day and 10-day mean concentrations of sulphur dioxide were also found to be directly associated with the number of asthma admissions during this period (P< 0.05). No direct correlation was observed for other variables. Conclusion: This study further emphasizes the deleterious effects of air pollution on respiratory health in major populated cities such as Tehran and suggests that increased attention needs to be given to urgent control of air pollution problems.