Health effects from particulate air pollution in one of the industrial cities of Iran

Reza  Fouladi Fard; Fazileh  Dordshaikh Torkamani; Amir Hossein Mahvi; Mohammad Fahiminia; Ali Koolivand; Mohammad Reza Hosseini; Babak Eshrati; Maria Fiore; Alireza  Omidi Oskouei; Nayereh Rezaei

doi:10.18502/japh.v6i2.7955

Reza Fouladi Fard Research Centre for Environmental Pollutants, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Fazileh Dordshaikh Torkamani Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Amir Hossein Mahvi Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Fahiminia Research Centre for Environmental Pollutants, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Ali Koolivand Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
Mohammad Reza Hosseini Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Babak Eshrati Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maria Fiore Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Alireza Omidi Oskouei Department of Public Health, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
Nayereh Rezaei Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v6i2.7955

Keywords: Air pollution; Particulate matter (PM); Mortality; Morbidity; Arak

Abstract

Introduction: Particulate Matter (PM), also known as aerosol, is the sum of all particles suspended in droplets floating in the air, which can have harmful impacts on humans all over the world. This cross-sectional study set out to evaluate the potential health effects of over-exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 on aggravating mortality and hospitalization due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases among Arak citizens.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional survey, AirQ⁺ model was used to estimate the health impacts of two particulate air pollutants (PM10 and PM2.5) based on Relative Risk (RR), and Baseline Incidence (BI) obtained from reference documents.

Results: According to the calculations, the attributable proportion percentage (AP%) and attributable excess cases (persons) for total mortality from PM10 were 3.3% (95% CI, 2.8%-3.8%) in 2014 vs. 4.9% (95% CI, 4.1%-5.6%) in 2015 and 99 persons in 2014 vs. 148 persons in 2015, respectively. Likewise, the AP (%) and the number of excess cases (persons) calculated for total mortality from PM2.5 were 3.3% (95% CI, 2.6%-4.1%) in 2014 vs. 1.1% (95% CI, 0.8%-1.3%) in 2015 and 99 persons in 2014 vs. 33 persons in 2015, respectively.

Conclusion: In this study, it was found that dominant west winds could increase the particle matters produced from power plants, petrochemical plants, and western dust storm, leading to a surge in the mortality and morbidity related to particulate air pollutants in Arak.