Air Pollution and Hospital Admissions for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Subtropical City: Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine whether there was an association between air pollutant levels and hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Taipei, Taiwan. Hospital admissions for COPD and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period 1996–2003. The relative risk of hospital admission was estimated using a case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. In the single-pollutant model, on warm days (≥20°C) statistically significant positive associations were found in all pollutants except sulphur dioxide (SO₂). However, statistically significant effects for COPD admissions on cool days (<20°C) were observed only for SO₂ levels. For the two-pollutant model, NO₂ and O₃ were significant in combination with each of the other four pollutants on warm days. This study provides evidence that higher levels of ambient air pollutants increases the risk of hospital admissions for COPD in Taiwan.

This study was partly supported by a grant from the National Science Council, Executive Yuan, Taiwan (NSC-95-2314-B-070-MY2). This study is based in part on data from the National Insurance Research Database provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health, and managed by National Health Research Institutes. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein do not represent those of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health, or National Health Research Institutes.