The impacts of air pollution on daily hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children: a perspective from the coastal city of Shantou, China.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of ambient air pollution on daily hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children from a coastal city perspective in China, and to further investigate the related susceptible populations.

METHODS

Daily hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children from 2015 to 2019, as well as meteorological factors and air pollutants for the same period in shantou were collected. We applied a Poisson generalized additive model (GAM) to investigate the impacts of air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3) on daily hospitalizations for acute bronchitis, with stratified analysis by sex, age and season.

RESULTS

A total of 11,228 hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children were collected. The results showed that daily hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children were significantly associated with SO2 and NO2, but not with PM2.5, PM10 or O3. Specifically, for every 10 μg/m3 increase in the concentration of SO2 and NO2 at lag07, the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for hospitalizations due to acute bronchitis in children were 1.2485 (1.1116-1.4023) and 1.1815 (1.1082-1.2596) respectively. Stratified analysis indicated that these associations were more pronounced in the boys, 0-2 years group and during the cold season.

CONCLUSION

Short-term exposure to SO2 and NO2 significantly increased the risk of hospitalizations for acute bronchitis in children, particularly in boys, children aged 0-2 and during the cold season (November to March). Relevant government departments should take further preventive measures to effectively reduce air pollutant concentrations.