Increasing cardiopulmonary emergency visits by long-range transported Asian dust storms in Taiwan.

This study aims to explore whether Asian dust storms can affect health after 4000 km long-range transport from their origins to downwind areas. Asian dust storms reaching Taipei, Taiwan are tracked by satellite images and confirmed by backward trajectory analysis and ground air pollution monitoring between 1995 and 2002. Our outcome variables include emergency visits for ischaemic heart diseases (ICD-9-CM 410-411, 414), cerebrovascular diseases (ICD-9-CM 430-437), and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) (ICD-9-CM 493, 496) from the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH). We use simple paired t-test and Poisson regression models to compare difference in emergency visits, air pollution levels and meteorological conditions for the pairs of Asian dust events and pre-dust periods. There were 39 high dust events with PM(10) greater than 90 microg/m(3) and another 46 low dust events with PM(10) less than 90 microg/m(3). Compared to their pre-dust periods, PM(10) concentrations are significantly increased by 77 microg/m(3) per event for the high dust events. Asian dust storms increase cardiopulmonary emergency visits during storm-affecting periods in Taipei when ambient PM(10) concentrations are above 90 microg/m(3). Compared to their pre-dust periods, emergency visits for ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and COPD during high dust events are increased by 0.7 case (35%), 0.7 case (20%), and 0.9 case (20%) per event, respectively, by paired t-tests. By comparing the model-predicted to the observed emergency visits, we find emergency visits for cardiovascular diseases (ICD-9-CM 410-411, 414, 430-437) were significantly increased by 2.9 cases (67%) per event for the 39 high Asian dust events.

[1]  J. Prospero,et al.  Long-Range Atmospheric Transport of Soil Dust from Asia to the Tropical North Pacific: Temporal Variability , 1980, Science.

[2]  Michael Q. Wang,et al.  An inventory of gaseous and primary aerosol emissions in Asia in the year 2000 , 2003 .

[3]  Ho-Jang Kwon,et al.  Effects of the Asian dust events on daily mortality in Seoul, Korea. , 2002, Environmental research.

[4]  Chun-Yuh Yang,et al.  Effects of Asian dust storm events on daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan. , 2004, Environmental research.

[5]  F. Dominici,et al.  Fine particulate air pollution and hospital admission for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. , 2006, JAMA.

[6]  M. Majewski,et al.  African and Asian Dust: From Desert Soils to Coral Reefs , 2003 .

[7]  Robert Frouin,et al.  Asian Dust Events of April 1998 , 2001 .

[8]  Chun-Yuh Yang,et al.  Effects of Asian Dust Storm Events On Daily Hospital Admissions For Cardiovascular Disease In Taipei, Taiwan , 2005, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[9]  Tsun-Jen Cheng,et al.  Effects of Asian dust event particles on inflammation markers in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage in pulmonary hypertensive rats. , 2004, Environmental research.

[10]  P. Stone,et al.  First steps toward understanding the pathophysiologic link between air pollution and cardiac mortality. , 1999, American heart journal.

[11]  Qiangguo Cai,et al.  Dust Storm as an Environmental Problem in North China , 2003, Environmental management.

[12]  Richard T. Barber,et al.  African dust and the demise of Caribbean Coral Reefs , 2000 .

[13]  Ta-Hsiung Lin,et al.  Long-range transport of yellow sand to Taiwan in Spring 2000: observed evidence and simulation , 2001 .

[14]  Shigeru Tanaka,et al.  The concentration, trend and seasonal variation of metals in the atmosphere in 16 Japanese cities shown by the results of National Air Surveillance Network (NASN) from 1974 to 1996 , 2000 .

[15]  William B Goggins,et al.  Effects of Asian dust storm events on daily stroke admissions in Taipei, Taiwan. , 2005, Environmental research.

[16]  C. Liau,et al.  Urban air pollution increases plasma fibrinogen and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in susceptible patients , 2006, European journal of cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation : official journal of the European Society of Cardiology, Working Groups on Epidemiology & Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology.

[17]  Yu Qin,et al.  Mineral particles collected in china and japan during the same Asian dust-storm event , 1996 .

[18]  Yong-Seung Chung,et al.  On the occurrence of yellow sand and atmospheric loadings , 1996 .

[19]  François Dulac,et al.  Control of atmospheric export of dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation , 1997, Nature.

[20]  W. MacNee,et al.  Particulate air pollution and acute health effects , 1995, The Lancet.