Air pollution bronchial asthma and acute respiratory infections in children under fourteen years of age in Havana city

Objective: To identify the relationship between emergency visits for acute respiratory illnesses acute bronchial asthma crisis (ABAC) and acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children less than 14 years of age and the daily changes of air pollutant levels in two central hospitals of Havana City between October 1st 1996 and March 16 1998. Material and Methods. An ecological time series study was conducted. We assessed the relationship between the presence of acute respiratory illnesses ABAC and IRA and exposure to levels of particles less than 10 µg/m(3) (PM(-10)) smoke and sulfur dioxide (SO(-2)); negative binomial regression models were used to assess latency periods of one to five days as well as the cumulative effect of seven days before the emergency visit. Results. The levels of atmospheric pollutants were low in general. The 24-hour mean values for PM(-10) levels smoke and SO(-2) were 59.2 µg/m(3) (SD)=29.2) 27.7 µg/m(3) (SD=21.2) and 21.1 µg/m(3) (SD=20.1) respectively. An increase of 20 µg/m(3) in the daily average of black smoke was associated with a 2.2% increase (95% CI 0.9-3.6) in the number of emergency visits for ABAC. A 20µg/m(3) increase in the daily average of black smoke and SO(2) was associated with an increase in ARI of 2.4% (95% CI 1.2-3.6) and 5% (95% CI 1.3-5.3) respectively with a 5-day lag. We also observed a cumulative effect for all the contaminants studied. Conclusions. These results suggest that air pollution level in Havana City affect childrens respiratory health; therefore implementation of control measures in necessary especially those aimed at decreasing motor vehicle exhaust fumes. (authors)