Source-specific contributions of particulate matter to asthma-related pediatric emergency department utilization

TL;DR

This study identifies specific sources of PM2.5 that influence pediatric asthma emergency visits, highlighting coal combustion as a key target for reducing hospitalizations in Cincinnati.

Contribution

It introduces a source-specific analysis of PM2.5 impacts on asthma, using clustering to identify source-related patterns linked to hospital visits.

Findings

Coal combustion contributions are associated with lower asthma hospital visits.

Source-specific PM2.5 levels can predict asthma ED utilization.

Reducing coal combustion may decrease asthma-related hospitalizations.

Abstract

Few studies have linked specific sources of ambient particulate matter smaller than 2.5 $\mu$m (PM2.5) and asthma. In this study, we estimated the contributions of specific sources to PM2.5 and examined their association with daily asthma hospital utilization in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. We used Poisson regression models to estimate the daily number of asthma ED visits the day of and one, and two days following separate increases in PM2.5 and its source components, adjusting for temporal trends, holidays, temperature, and humidity. In addition, we used a model-based clustering method to group days with similar source-specific contributions into six distinct clusters. Specifically, elevated PM2.5 concentrations occurring on days characterized by low contributions of coal combustion showed a significantly reduced risk of hospital utilization for asthma (rate ratio: 0.86, 95% CI: [0.77, 0.95]) compared to other clusters. Reducing the contribution of coal combustion to PM2.5 levels could be an effective intervention for reducing asthma-related hospital utilization.