Hospitalizations for Respiratory Problems and Exposure to Industrial Emissions in Children

Abstract

Industrial activities such as metal smelting, petroleum refining, and open mining emit air pollutants that can affect the health of surrounding communities. Few studies have assessed respiratory effects of acute exposure to industrial air emissions in children. In this study, we examined the association between daily exposure to air emissions from an industrial complex and hospitalizations for respiratory problems of children living nearby using a case crossover design. We used hospitalizations for respiratory problems of children under 5 years old living within 7.5 km of the industrial complex from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2010. Pollutant exposure was estimated using daily mean and maximum concentrations of SO 2 and PM 2.5 at fixed monitoring stations located near the complex. We also calculated the daily percentage of hours that a child's residence was downwind of the industrial complex as an indicator of exposure to emissions. Odds-ratios were adjusted for temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, and calculated using conditional logistic regressions, reported by increases of interquartile range. A significant positive association was found between hospitalization for asthma or bronchiolitis and the percentage of hours downwind (OR: 1.11, 95% CI=1.01-1.22) but large statistical variability was noted for associations with all three exposure metrics (OR maximum SO 2 levels: 1.06, 95% CI=0.98-1.15; OR daily maximum PM 2.5 levels: 0.97, 95% CI=0.86-1.09). The results suggest that exposure to the mixture of air pollutant emissions from an industrial complex may induce respiratory health problems in children residing nearby.

Gene-by-environment interactions in urban populations modulate risk phenotypes

“…Individuals selected for analyses include those living across different regions in Quebec: Montreal, the largest urban center in the Quebec province (MTL, 4500 individuals/km 2 ); Quebec City, a smaller urban center (QUE, 1140 ind/km 2 ); and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, a less urbanized region (SAG, 800 ind/km 2 ). Differences in the regional environment within and across these cities, including ambient pollutant concentrations, are known to be associated with various health outcomes 22 , 23 . The majority of the Quebec population is of FC descent; a group of individuals descending from French settlers that colonized the Saint-Lawrence Valley from 1608 to the British conquest of 1759 24 .…”

An evaluation of hospital admission respiratory disease attributed to sulfur dioxide ambient concentration in Ahvaz from 2011 through 2013

“…In another study in Detroit, USA, Lipmann et al reported meaningful association between sulfur dioxide level and health effects on human (Lippmann et al 2000). An investigation in Quebec, Canada estimates the association between daily levels of sulfur dioxide and hospitalizations for respiratory problems (Labelle et al 2015). In similar works, Geravandi et al studied the association between hospital admissions respiratory disease attributed to the sulfur dioxide Goudarzi et al 2014).…”

Genomic and Environmental Contributions to Chronic Diseases in Urban Populations

“…Individuals living across a North-South urbanization cline in Quebec were selected for analyses, including: Montreal, the largest urban center in the Quebec province (MTL, 4500 individuals/km 2 ); Quebec City, a smaller urban center (QUE, 1140 ind/km 2 ); and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, a less urbanized region (SAG, 800 ind/km 2 ). Differences in the regional environment within and across these cities, including ambient pollutant concentrations, have been associated with various health outcomes (18,19). The majority of the Quebec population is of French-Canadian (FC) descent; a group of individuals descending from the French settlers that colonized the Saint-Lawrence Valley from 1608 to the British conquest of 1759 (20,21).…”

“…S9). The higher concentrations of SO2 and O3 in SAG, which is a smaller urban center, are related to the presence of several large industrial complexes (18,27). Coinertia analyses (28), revealed covariation between 57 clinical endophenotypes (Table S4) We increased our resolution for pollution exposures by using daily exposure to SO2 pollution averaged over a 14-day window preceding each individual sampling day (Fig.…”