Abstract

LOPEZ GIGOSOS, Mª Jesús. Atmospheric pollution, morbidity and mortality in the city of Albacete (year 2005). Rev Clin Med Fam [online]. 2009, vol.2, n.8, pp.392-399. ISSN 2386-8201.

Objective. To study the short term affect of atmospheric pollution on hospital admittances for respiratory, infectious, circulatory and cardiovascular diseases and on general mortality. Design. Cross sectional, ecological study using different data sources. Setting. The city of Albacete in 2005. Participants. The population residing in the city of Albacete. Main measurements. Environmental variables (pollutants and meteorological factors) Results. High levels of air pollution were not observed. The level of particulate matter is high at the end of winter and also increases, but to a lesser extent, in summer. The typical patterns for ozone (O³)in summer and oxides in winter were observed. In total admittances and in the 65 years or over group, a positive correlation was found between hospital admittances for respiratory diseases and levels of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Sulphur Oxides (SOx). Likewise negative correlations between hospital admittances for respiratory disease and ozone levels and temperature were established for the all ages group, for the 65 years or over group and for the 0-14 years group. The analyses performed by time series models demonstrate that environmental variables have an effect on morbidity, especially respiratory problems, in persons over 64 years and in those under 15 years. Conclusions. Although there was a low level of air pollution, we found a significant correlation between some air pollutants and hospital morbidity and mortality. In most of the analyses, the effect of air pollution is greater in persons over 64 years and in those under 15 years. The time series analyses revealed that environmental factors had a significant impact on morbidity for all causes, and in particular for respiratory and circulatory system diseases.

Keywords : Air Pollutants; Morbidity; Mortality.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )