- 期刊
- OpenAccess
Effect of Ambient Air Pollutants Exposure on Clinic Visits for Atopic Dermatitis, a Nationwide Study in Central-Southern Taiwan
摘要
Many studies have demonstrated that exposure to air pollutants aggravates the symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD). This study aimed to investigate associations between daily clinic visits of patients with AD and exposure to ambient air pollutants in central-southern Taiwan. The dependent variable was daily visit counts of AD retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2008/01/01 to 2018/12/31. Data on ambient air pollutants and meteorologic data in Kaohsiung City, Tainan City, Yunlin County, Changhua County, and Taichung City were obtained from the Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Network database, including sulfur dioxide (SO_2), carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), methane (CH_4), and total hydrocarbons (THC) from 2008/01/01 to 2018/12/31. Independent variables included one-day 75^(th)-percentile level of one air pollutant, meteorologic data, and patients with allergic diseases from the NHIRD. This multivariable Poisson model was analyzed by Poisson regression, and stratified analysis included age, gender, and geographic areas. The results showed total daily clinic visits for AD had significantly positive associations with higher levels of five ambient air pollutants on the visit days [adjusted relative risk (ARR): SO_2: ARR = 1.009, CO: ARR = 1.034, NMHC: ARR = 1.118, CH_4: ARR = 1.051, and THC: ARR = 1.056, all p < 0.001]. In subgroups analyses of age and gender, daily clinic visits for AD were significantly positively associated with higher levels of five ambient air pollutants on the visit days (ARR: 1.007-1.14, p < 0.001). The ARRs of NMHC were the highest. In analysis of areas, SO_2 showed consistently significantly positive effects in five areas; NMHC in four areas; THC in three areas; CO in three areas; and methane in two areas. In conclusion, the five ambient air pollutants were significant risk factors in the total daily visit counts of AD and in age and gender subgroups.