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Published on: August 25, 2017
Asthma Exacerbations Attributable to Ozone Air Pollution in New England
Nicholas J Nassikas1, Keith Spangler2, Gregory A Wellenius2
1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI; Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.
Background:
Ground-level ozone (O3) is an air pollutant and known trigger for asthma exacerbation. We sought to estimate the number of summertime emergency department (ED) visits for asthma exacerbations attributable to ozone in each county in New England (Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont) in 2010.
Methods:
We performed a health impact assessment using BenMAP. We used population and incidence rates in New England, daily maximum 8-hour O3 levels, and a concentration-response function derived from the epidemiological literature to quantify ozone-attributable asthma ED visits.
Results:
We estimate that in 2010 there were 4,612 (95% CI 2192, 6866) excess ED visits for asthma exacerbation attributable to summertime ozone across New England. Rates of ozone-attributable asthma ED visits were highest in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Conclusions:
There was a substantial number of ozone-attributable asthma ED visits in New England in 2010 with geographic heterogeneity across states and counties.
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