OBJECTIVES This study, using case-crossover design, search a relationship between changing levels of air pollutants and asthma attack in asthma patients. METHODS We searched the daily total number of asthmatic patients at hospital' s emergency room in Seoul, Korea by investigating total 49 general hospitals emergency room records. Otherwise, We investigated medical records of asthmatic patients at one of the 49 hospitals we have searched. We investigated addresses that they are living, diagnosis, smoking history, whether respiratory infection or not, medications. We analyzed the data by 1:m conditional logistic regression used when matched case-control study is analyzed. Control periods were chosen by bidirectional paired matching technique 7, 14 days before and after case periods. RESULTS the relative risk of asthmatic attack by 100 ppm ozone increase between June and September were 1.348(95 % CI = 1.010~1.619). Between November and February, the relative risk by 100 /m TSP increase, 100ppb sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide were respectively 1.278(1.010~1.619), 1.237(1.019~1.502), 1.285(1.006~1.640). In stratified analysis, the relative risk were significant when the asthmatic patients were children aged 15 years or below, when there were respiratory infection, and when the patients took medications irregularly CONCLUSIONS: There was statistically significant association between ambient levels of air pollutants and asthmatic attack. So, we have to exert our efforts to minimize the air pollution effectively, to protect public health from air pollution.
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This survey was carried out from October 16 through October 27, 1989 to evaluate the working environment of expressway tollgate.
We measured and analyzed 9 parameters such as total dust, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead in the air together with climatic conditions and traffic volumes at 10 major highway tollgates.
The results obtained were as follows: 1. The concentrations of air pollutants at inside and outside of toll booth were 0.7824 and 1.5460 mg/m3 for total dust, 0.034 and 0.094 ppm for sulfur dioxide, 2.2 and 4.3 ppm for carbon monoxide, 0.031 and 0.068 ppm for nitrogen dioxide, 0.0018 and 0.0027 mg/m3 for lead, respectiveively.
2. All air pollutants showed significant association each other except lead and nitrogen dioxide.
3. No relation was observed between air pollutants and traffic volume.
4. Generally speaking, climatic conditions showed no effect on the value of air pollutants both at inside and outside of toll booth. The exceptions were humidity that was related with carbon monoixide outside and air current that was related with lead outside.