Research
Surveillance of the short-term impact of fine particle air pollution on cardiovascular disease hospitalizations in New York State
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* Corresponding author: Valerie B Haley vbh03@health.state.ny.us
1 Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA
2 Bureau of Air Quality Surveillance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY, USA
Environmental Health 2009, 8:42 doi:10.1186/1476-069X-8-42
Published: 22 September 2009Abstract
Background
Studies have shown that the effects of particulate matter on health vary based on factors including the vulnerability of the population, health care practices, exposure factors, and the pollutant mix.
Methods
We used time-stratified case-crossover to estimate differences in the short-term impacts of PM2.5 on cardiovascular disease hospital admissions in New York State by geographic area, year, age, gender, co-morbid conditions, and area poverty rates.
Results
PM2.5 had a stronger impact on heart failure than other cardiovascular diagnoses, with 3.1% of heart failure admissions attributable to short-term PM2.5 exposure over background levels of 5 ug/m3. Older adults were significantly more susceptible to heart failure after short-term ambient PM2.5 exposure than younger adults.
Conclusion
The short-term impact of PM2.5 on cardiovascular disease admissions, and modifications of that impact, are small and difficult to measure with precision. Multi-state collaborations will be necessary to attain more precision to describe spatiotemporal differences in health impacts.