Short-term association between air pollution and daily genitourinary disorder admissions in Lanzhou, China

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and the number of daily hospital admissions for genitourinary disorders in Lanzhou. Hospital admission data and air pollutants, including PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, O₃8h and CO, were obtained from the period 2013 to 2020. A generalized additive model (GAM) combined with distribution lag nonlinear model (DLNM) based on quasi-Poisson distribution was used by the controlling for trends, weather, weekdays and holidays. Short-term exposure to PM_2.5, NO₂ and CO increased the risk of genitourinary disorder admissions with RR of 1.0096 (95% CI 1.0002-1.0190), 1.0255 (95% CI 1.0123-1.0389) and 1.0686 (95% CI 1.0083-1.1326), respectively. PM₁₀, O₃8h and SO₂ have no significant effect on genitourinary disorders. PM_2.5 and NO₂ are more strongly correlated in female and ≥ 65 years patients. CO is more strongly correlated in male and < 65 years patients. PM_2.5, NO₂ and CO are risk factors for genitourinary morbidity, and public health interventions should be strengthened to protect vulnerable populations.