Association of fine particulate air pollution with cardiopulmonary morbidity in Western Coast of Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To assess cardiopulmonary morbidity associated with daily exposures to PM 2.5 in Western Coast of Saudi Arabia. Methods: We monitored 24-h PM 2.5 and its constituents including black carbon (BC), particulate sulfate ( p -SO 4 2– ), nitrate ( p -NO 3 – ), ammonium ( p -NH 4 + ) and trace elements (TEs) at a site in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia from May to June 2013 with simultaneous collection of hospital data (N=2513). Cardiopulmonary morbidity risk was determined in a generalized linear time-series model. Results: Exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with a 7.6% ( p =0.056) increase in risk of respiratory disease (RD) in females. Black carbon increased RD morbidity risk by 68.1% ( p =0.056) in females. Exposure to p -SO 4 2– increased the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk by up to 5.3% ( p =0.048) in males; and RD by 2.9% ( p =0.037) in females and 2.5% ( p =0.022) in males. The p -NH 4 + increased CVD risk by up to 20.3% ( p =0.033) in males; and RD by 10.7% ( p =0.014) in females and 8% ( p =0.031) in males. No statistically significant association was observed for p -NO 3 – and TEs exposure. Conclusion: Overall, results show an increased risk for cardiopulmonary morbidity following exposure to air pollution. Saudi Med J 2017; Vol. 38 (9): 905-912 doi: 10.15537/smj.2017.9.18545 How to cite this article: Nayebare SR, Aburizaiza OS, Siddique A, Carpenter DO, Zeb J, Aburizaiza AJ, et al. Association of fine particulate air pollution with cardiopulmonary morbidity in Western Coast of Saudi Arabia.  Saudi Med J . 2017 Sep;38(9):905-912. doi: 10.15537/smj.2017.9.18545.