Preliminary investigation of the association between air pollution exposure and childhood asthma hospitalizations from 2015 to 2018 in East China

TL;DR

This study examined if air pollution affects childhood asthma hospitalizations in East China but found no significant link.

Contribution

The study provides new evidence that air pollution exposure is not significantly associated with childhood asthma hospitalizations in the region.

Findings

No significant associations were found between air pollution exposure and childhood asthma hospitalizations.

Childhood asthma hospitalizations showed seasonal and demographic patterns, peaking in late spring and fall and being more common in males and children under 3 years old.

Abstract

This study investigated whether exposure to air pollution remains a significant factor contributing to childhood asthma in China.

Short-term exposure to air pollutants was assessed using daily average concentrations of pollutants at current and lag intervals (0–6 days) from 2015 to 2018. Long-term individual exposure in 2016 was estimated using land-use regression (LUR) models. The effects of short- and long-term exposure on childhood asthma hospitalizations were evaluated using generalized additive models and multiple time-dependent Cox regression models, respectively.

Hospitalizations for childhood asthma typically peaked in late spring and fall, with a higher prevalence of wheezing or asthma observed in male individuals than in female individuals. Hospital admissions were most frequent among children aged 0–3 years. However, no significant positive associations were observed between short- or long-term air pollutant exposure and daily childhood asthma hospitalizations, based on the applied statistical models and the levels of air pollution exposure measured during the study period.

In this study, variability in air pollution exposure was not associated with variability in hospitalizations of children with asthma. Instead, asthma onset exhibited unique seasonal and demographic patterns.

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