Acute Asthma Exacerbations and Air Pollutants in Children Living in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Abstract

The incidence of childhood asthma, a common condition, is on the rise worldwide. Despite reductions in the emission of urban smoke, traffic pollution is now a major worldwide problem. Belfast, Northern Ireland, is an old industrial city with major pollution problems. In this study, the authors investigated the rates of acute asthma admissions to Belfast's major children's emergency department. The admissions were studied, relative to day-to-day fluctuations in thoracic particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, carbon monoxide, benzene, temperature, and rainfall. Daily admissions for acute asthma at the emergency department of the Royal Belfast Hospital and average daily pollution were recorded for the 3-yr period between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 1995. The authors used Poisson regression to assess independent association(s). Individually, small associations were seen for thoracic particulate matter (relative risk = 1.10), sulfur dioxide (relative risk = 1.09), nitrogen dioxide (relative risk = 1.11), nitric oxide (relative risk = 1.07), oxides of nitrogen (relative risk = 1.10), carbon monoxide (relative risk = 1.07), and benzene (1.14); no associations were noted between meteorological factors (temperature and rainfall) or ozone and asthma emergency-department admissions. The authors adjusted for the aforementioned parameters, and benzene level was the only variable associated independently with asthma emergency-department admissions in children. Benzene may be a more reliable method of measuring exposure to vehicle exhaust emissions than measurements of other pollutants.