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MODEL FOR MEASURING THE HEALTH IMPACT FROM CHANGING LEVELS OF AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION: MORBIDITY STUDY
Citation:
Namekata, T., B. Carnow, Z. Flournoy-Gill, E. O'Farrell, AND D. Reda. MODEL FOR MEASURING THE HEALTH IMPACT FROM CHANGING LEVELS OF AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION: MORBIDITY STUDY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/1-79/024 (NTIS PB80107030), 1979.
Description:
The study quantitatively examines the relationship between human health and ambient air concentrations of the major pollutants in the city of Chicago. This report describes the morbidity analysis in which linear regression models have been developed to quantitatively estimate the degree of the air pollution contribution to emergency room visits for cardiac and respiratory diseases in two major hospitals in the city of Chicago. Based on the significant associations between the pollutants and the disease groups, holding climatological and days-of-week variables constant, the variation due to the pollutant is estimated. According to the results, sulfur dioxide based on patient exposure levels can account for about 13% of the variation of emergency room visits for acute bronchial and lower respiratory infections and about 22% for total cardiac diagnoses. Nitric oxide based on measurements from the closest site to the hospitals can account for about 7% of the variation of visits for total respiratory diagnoses, 6% for allergic conditions and upper respiratory infections, 4% for total cardiac diagnoses and 4% for hypertension and vascular heart diseases. Total suspended particulate, carbon monoxide and ozone do not show significant associations with any disease groups.