Association between ambient black carbon concentration and hospital visits of childhood asthma / 国际儿科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:Exposure to pollutants may induce aggravation of asthma in children through various ways.Ambient black carbon(BC)is a typical pollutant in Northeast China, and there has been no research report on the relationship between atmospheric BC exposure and childhood asthma in Northeast China.This study is to investigate the association between the atmospheric concentration of BC and hospital visits of daily childhood asthma.Methods:During the period of January 1 to August 31 in 2019, 52 653 hospital visits of childhood asthma children were recorded in several hospitals in Shenyang.A time series analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between the atmospheric concentration of BC and hospital visits of daily childhood asthma.Results:During the study period, the total number of children with asthma in outpatient and emergency departments in Shenyang was 52 653, the average concentration of BC was 2.58 mg/m 3.Increased concentrations of BC(2.00~10.03 mg/m 3)( RR=1.17, 95% CI 1.07~1.28)and NO 2(0~88 μg/m 3)( RR=1.21, 95% CI 1.06~ 1.39)were significantly associated with elevated number of childhood asthma in outpatient and emergency departments( P< 0.05). The highest cumulative effect of increased pollutants on children′s asthma within 10 days was BC( RR=1.60, 95% CI 1.23~2.08). Conclusion:There is a positive association between BC concentration and hospital visits of childhood asthma, the accumulative effect of BC on childhood asthma is greater than other pollutants.