The Interaction Effects Of Air Pollution And Meteorological Factors On The Infectious Diseases

With the serious pollution of air, global warming and the rapid economic globalization, a large number of infectious diseases are seriously threatening human health, such as emerging infectious diseases, subtropical infectious diseases moving to northern, and resurgent infectious diseases controlled effectively. Thus, the studies on interaction effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on infectious diseases with substantial morbidity and mortality can provide prevention and control policies of infectious diseases for policymaking, and theoretical basis for prediction.This study firstly collected the data including daily data of concentration of air pollutants (SO2, NO2, and PM10), meteorological factors (highest temperature, lowest temperature, average temperature, average pressure, relative humidity, dew point temperature, visibility, and the average wind speed) in Lanzhou, and infectious diseases (hepatitis, measles, dysentery, TB (tuberculosis) and HFMD (Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease)) in Chengguan District, Lanzhou from 2005 to 2009. Then the relativities between the infectious diseases and air pollutants, and meteorological factors were analyzed by using SPSS software, and the interaction and hysteresis effects of air pollutants and meteorological factors on the infectious diseases were estimated quantitatively. The results were presented as follows:(1) The air pollutants exhibited the distinct seasonal variation, and the concentration in spring and winter were obviously higher than that of other two seasons. All the meteorological factors also exhibited a seasonal variation except for the wind speed. In addition, hepatitis and TB had no obvious seasonal characteristics, however, high incidence of measles was in spring, and dysentery and HFMD frequently emerged in summer.(2) SO2 and NO2 had larger effects on the infectious diseases. Dysentery, TB and HFMD are more sensitive to SO2 and NO2. In the three pollutants, SO2 displayed the largest lag effect on infectious diseases and had the most obvious lag effect on measles.(3) The meteorological factors that greatly effecting hepatitis, measles, dysentery, TB, and HFMD was daily highest temperature (k=0.383), relative humidity (k=-0.331), dew point temperature (k=3.784), daily highest temperature (k=0.439), and daily average temperature (k=2.331), respectively. The daily highest temperature and dew point temperature displayed the greatest effect on measles (k=0.268) in spring, and on dysentery (k=1.568) and HFMD (k=-2.201) in summer, respectively. The meteorological factors in spring had the obvious lag effect on HFMD, however, that in other seasons had the obvious lag effect on measles.(4) Air pollutants and meteorological factors had the interaction effects on dysentery and HFMD, however, there was no obvious effect on the other three infectious diseases.Finally, this study indicated that, the morbidity of measles, dysentery and HFMD displayed the obvious seasonal variation. SO2 and NO2 had the greater effect on infectious diseases than PM10, and SO2 had the most obvious lag effect on infectious diseases. Temperature had the greater effect on infectious disease, moreover, the daily highest temperature and daily average temperature displayed the stronger lag effect. The air pollutants and meteorological factors had interaction effects on dysentery and KFMD.