engleski

Emergency cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults and air pollution in Zagreb

The aim of the study was to assess possible relationship between the concentration of total suspended particles (TSP) and aggravation of symptoms in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) accounting for trend, seasonality and weather. Daily data on the number of patients with aggravated symptoms of COPD, mean TSP concentrations, temperature, air pressure and relative humidity were collected for years 1994 and 1995 in Zagreb, Croatia. The authors have found a statistically significant correlation between the number of cases of COPD and the TSP concentration on the previous day. There was a significant autocorrelation in residuals with a lag of 8 days. The estimated value of the regression coefficient for the concentration of TSP on the previous day was 0.001692 (s.e.=0.000797, p=0.0345). The estimated relative risk, corresponding to a change of 10 mg/m3 in the mean daily concentration of suspended particles, was 1.184 (95% confidence interval: 1.013-1.385).

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COPD; time series; total suspended particles; TSP

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