Association between Airborne Pollen Concentrations and Human Respiratory Diseases / 环境与健康杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the relationship between airborne pollen concentrations and the number of medical consultations in out-patient and emergency for respiratory diseases in Haidian district,Beijing. Methods To collect the data of airborne pollen concentrations,atmospheric concentrations of total suspended particles(TSP),the related meteorological factors (average temperature,maximum temperature,minimum temperature,average air pressure,precipitation and relative humidity) and the data of patients who were diagnosed with respiratory diseases including acute pharyngitis,acute laryngitis,acute bronchitis,anaphylactic rhinitis and bronchial asthma from database on medical insurance,from April to September in 2000 to 2002 in Haidian district,Beijing. The partial correlation coefficients between airborne pollen concentrations and the number of medical consultations for respiratory diseases in spring (from April 1st to June 16th),and in summer-autumn (from July 15th to September 30th) were calculated after controlling TSP concentrations and the six related meteorological factors. Results The airborne pollen concentrations in these three years showed two obvious peaks in spring and summer-autumn,and each of the five respiratory diseases has its specific change character. The number of medical consultations for anaphylactic rhinitis was significantly associated with the airborne pollen concentrations in summer-autumn (the partial correlation coefficient was 0.802,P