Temporal Incidence and Prevalence of Bronchitis and Morbidities from Exposure to Ambient PM 2.5 and PM 10

Abstract

Emerging evidence from epidemiological studies has shown that exposure to particulate matter (PM) affects brain and neurological health in addition to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This poses serious public health issue, especially in developing countries with weak air pollution control policies and mitigation approaches. The study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of ambient PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (particles with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 and 10 μm, respectively) concentrations on the resident of Arak (Iran). The World Health Organization (WHO) Health Assessment model was used to estimate the incidence of chronic bronchitis (ICB) among adults and prevalence of bronchitis (PB) in children, including morbidities such as restricted activity days (RADs) and work days lost (WDL). Annual mean PM_2.5 concentrations were 12.9 and 24.1 μg/m ³ , whereas PM₁₀ were 84.5 and 51.9 μg/m ³ in 2015 and 2016, respectively. In 2015–2016, 37.6%–56.9% for ICB, 28.0%–44.3% for PB, 2.5%–7.0% for RADs, and 2.4%–6.9% for WDL were attributed to ambient PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 exposures, respectively. Finally, 6–10 ICB, 6–10 PB, 279–788 RADs and 76–214 WDL attributable cases due to PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, respectively, could be prevented if the annual limit values of 10 μg/m ³ were not exceeded. This study could serve as proxy for similar urban residential environments across many developing countries to aid in informing local and national authorities about future stringent air pollution mitigation policies.