A study on the epidemiology of asthma in children in Philadelphia: The relation of weather and air pollution to peak incidence of asthmatic attacks

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Abstract

A continuing study of the possible correlations between weather patterns, air pollution, and bronchial asthma in a group of asthmatic children was carried out at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. During the 676 days of the study, 1,346 patients were seen. There was an average of 2.5 visits of patients for treatment of acute bronchial asthma in 24 hours, with a standard deviation of less than two. On any day we considered there to be significant increase in asthmatic attacks when 5 or more patients were seen in the Receiving Ward for treatment of asthma. (The number on these days ranged from 5 to 14 per 24 hours.) There were 70 such 24 hour periods. There was a threefold greater incidence of bronchial asthma during days of noteworthy high air pollution. There was a greater incidence of bronchial asthma during days of high barometric pressure over Philadelphia (this was a four-fold increase). There were 117 days during the study when there was a combination of high pressure and an increase in atmospheric pollution. Thirty of the 70 days of increased frequency of asthma (43 per cent) coincided with these days. With these combined conditions, meteorologic factors of stagnant air plus noteworthy days of high air pollution, the asthma incidence was found to rise to nine times the rate found on the control days of cleaner and less stagnant air. Of the 280 days which had neither high barometric pressure nor increased air pollution, there were only 8 days (3 per cent) with an increased frequency of asthma (p was less than 0.001). Occurrence of stable weather conditions with stagnant air over Philadelphia seems to correlate with peak incidences of bronchial asthma. There are indications that the increased air pollution associated with these weather conditions is a causative factor. It is suggested that an asthma index may be derived from meteorologic and air pollution data to help predict such peak incidences.

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Presented at the Twenty-second Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, New York, Feb. 22, 1966, and at the Fourth International Biometeorological Congress, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Aug. 29, 1966.

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