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Background: Many epidemiologic studies revealed the association between air pollutions and the hazardous impact for health, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases. Limited evidence focused on the effects of different pollutants on pneumonia with sepsis and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs), and association between air pollution and seasonal effect, and the effects of underlying diseases are not well understood. Objectives: 1. The aim of first step study was to estimate the impact of particulate matter (PM) on emergency department (ED) visits for pneumonia patients with sepsis after adjusting for gaseous pollutants and weather conditions. 2. The aim of second step study was to examine the effect of air pollutants on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), and the impact of different underlying diseases. Method In first stage study, data of PM2.5, PM10 and other air pollutants, measured at each of the 11 air- quality monitoring stations in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, were collected between 2007 and 2013. We extracted the medical records of non-trauma patients aged >17 years and who had visited the ED with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia with septicemia. Poisson models were used to examine the relationship between air pollutants and daily ED visits for pneumonia with sepsis. In second stage study, we collected the data of PM2.5 and other air pollutants in Kaohsiung City between January 2015 and December 2016, and the information of patients who experienced OHCA from emergency medical service database. Result In first stage study, the result of single pollutant model suggested that per interquartile range (IQR) increments in the levels of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 on the ED visited day increased the odds of pneumonia with sepsis by 25.5%, 21.61%, and 21.97%, respectively, during the warm season. After adjusting for PM10 and NO2 in the two-pollutant model, the hazardous effect of PM2.5 still achieved statistically significant. In second stage study, 3566 patients were included and subgroup analyses were performed by sex, age, and underlying diseases. Interquartile increments in PM10, PM2.5, and O3 levels on lag1 and NO2 level on lag3 were associated with increments of 11.3%, 10.8%, 6.2%, and 1.7% in OHCA incidence, respectively. In subgroup analysis, we found that patients with heart disease (1.612; interaction p = 0.001), diabetes (1.363; interaction p = 0.009), and advanced age (≥70 years, 1.297; interaction p = 0.003) were more susceptible to NO2 on lag3. Furthermore, patients were more susceptible to O3 during the cold season (1.194; interaction p = 0.001). Conclusions: Although the existing evidence already supports the relationship between PM2.5 and pulmonary dysfunction, in first stage study, we propose that PM2.5 may also play an important role in emergency visits for pneumonia with sepsis during the warm season in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after adjusting for PM10 and NO2. In second stage study, we found that PM2.5, PM10 NO2, and O3 may play an important role in OHCA events, and the effects vary by underlying condition, age and season.
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