Relationship between the Epidemiology of Chronic Rhinitis and Atmospheric Environmental Factors in Wuhan / 公共卫生与预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the relationship between the epidemiology of chronic rhinitis and atmospheric environmental factors in Wuhan. Methods A total of 3 371 patients with chronic rhinitis in Wuhan seventh hospital from January 2017 to January 2020 were enrolled. The incidence of chronic rhinitis in different years and seasons was compared. Then the influence of atmospheric environmental factors such as air pollution index (API), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), inhalable particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), diurnal patterns of relative humidity, wind speed, air temperature, air pressure wind speed and temperature range on occurrence of chronic rhinitis was analyzed. Results The incidence of chronic rhinitis in Wuhan showed an annual decreasing trend from 2017 to 2020, so the incidence rate was the highest in 2017 (38.83%, 1309/3371) and was the lowest in 2020 (28.98%, 977/3371). In terms of different seasons, the incidence rate was the highest in winter (33.67%, 1135/3371), and was the lowest in summer (16.11%, 543/3371). The main factors affecting the incidence of chronic rhinitis were API, PM2.5, and PM10 in spring, which were NO2, SO2, and daily average relative humidity in summer, those were API, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2 in autumn, and were API, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and daily range of air temperature in winter. The lag response of patients with chronic rhinitis to atmospheric environmental factors was 2-5 days in spring, 1-6 days in summer, 0-5 days in autumn and 3-6 days in winter. Patients with chronic rhinitis have the fastest response to API and PM2.5 in spring, the fastest response to API in summer, and the fastest response to API and PM2.5 in autumn, respectively. Conclusion The incidence of chronic rhinitis in Wuhan is decreasing year by year, and the incidence is related to environmental and meteorological factors, and the disease onset has the characteristics of lag due to seasonal factors.