Abstract:

In the present study an assessment of the influence of the ambient air pollution on the incidence of the Childhood Asthma Admissions (CAA) is attempted by using cross spectrum analysis. The medical data concern the hospital registries of the three main Children's Hospitals of Athens for the 14-year period, 1987-2000. The air pollution data used in this study were mean monthly concentrations of CO, Black Smoke (BS), NOx, SO2, and O3, averaged over all the available stations, for each air pollutant, in the network of the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works (GMEPPPW) for the aforementioned 14-year period. The performed analysis revealed that a pronounced seasonal variation of asthma exacerbation among Athenian children does exist, rising during the cold damp period in pre-schoolers and peaking around May in the schoolchildren. We found that asthma admissions are associated with ambient air pollution at different frequencies. Asthma exacerbation among the first age group (0-4 years) is strongly depended on winter air pollution whereas older children (5-14 years) appear to be more vulnerable to the exposure of primary air pollutants mainly during late spring. Our findings strengthen the aspect that weather conditions such as sea breeze, mainly happen at the late spring or early summer in association with air pollution episodes could affect childhood asthma exacerbation. © 2008 Global NEST Printed in Greece. All rights reserved.

Notes:

Cited By :1Export Date: 2 November 2015Correspondence Address: Nastos, P. T.; Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis, 157 84 Athens, Greece; email: nastos@geol.uoa.grReferences: Berktas, B.M., Bircan, A., Effects of atmospheric sulphur dioxide and particulate matter concentrations on emergency room admissions due to asthma in Ankara (2003) Tuberk Toraks, 51, pp. 231-238;Conrad, V., Pollak, L.W., (1950) Methods in Climatology, , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Crighton, E.J., Mamdani, M.M., Upshur, R.E.G., A population based time series analysis of asthma hospitalizations in Ontario, Canada: 1988 to 2000 (2001) BMC Health Services Research, 1, p. 7; Garty, B.Z., Kosman, E., Ganor, E., Berger, V., Garty, L., Wietzen, T., Waisman, Y., Waisel, Y., Emergency room visits of asthmatic children, to air pollution, weather, and relation airborne allergens (1998) Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 81, pp. 563-570; Grech, V., Balzan, M., Asciak, R.P., Buhagiar, A., Seasonal variations in hospital admissions for asthma in Malta (2002) Journal of Asthma, 39, pp. 263-268; Jaffe, D.H., Singer, M.E., Rimm, A.A., Air pollution and emergency department visits for asthma among Ohio Medicaid recipients, 1991-1996 (2003) Environmental Research, 91, pp. 21-28; Jalaludin, B.B., O'Toole, B.I., Leedor, S.R., Acute effects of urban ambient air pollution on respiratory symptoms, asthma medication use, and doctor visits for asthma in a cohort of Australian children (2004) Environonmental Research, 95, pp. 32-42; Kallos, G., Kassomenos, P., Pielke, R.A., Synoptic and mesoscale weather conditions during air pollution episodes in Athens, Greece (1993) Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 62, pp. 163-184; Lipsett, M., Hurley, S., Ostro, B., Air pollution and emergency room visits for asthma in Santa Clara County, California (1997) Environmental Health Perspectives, 105, pp. 216-222; Norris, G., Larson, T., Koenig, J., Claiborn, C., Sheppard, L., Asthma aggravation, combustion, and stagnant air (2000) Thorax, 55, pp. 466-470; Ostro, B.D., Eskeland, G.S., Sanchez, J.M., Feyzioglu, T., Air pollution and health effects: A study of medical visits among children in Santiago, Chile (1999) Environmental Health Perspectives, 107, pp. 69-73; Paliatsos, A.G., Priftis, K.N., Ziomas, I.C., Panagiotopoulou-Gartagani, P., Tapratzi-Potamianou, P., Zachariadi-Xypolita, A., Nicolaidou, P., Saxoni-Papageorgiou, P., Association between ambient air pollution and childhood asthma in Athens, Greece (2006) Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 15, pp. 614-618; Priftis, K., Anagnostakis, J., Harokopos, E., Orfanou, I., Petraki, M., Saxoni-Papageorgiou, P., Time trends and seasonal variation in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the Athens region of Greece: 1978-88 (1993) Thorax, 48, pp. 1168-1169; Trasande, L., Thurston, G.D., The role of air pollution in asthma and other paediatric morbidities (2005) Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 115, pp. 689-699; Walters, S., Griffiths, R.K., Ayers, J.G., Temporal association between hospital admissions for asthma in Birmingham and ambient levels of sulphur dioxide and smoke (1994) Thorax, 49, pp. 133-140

Publisher's Version