Assessment of Health Impacts of PM2.5 by AirQ+ Software in the City of Sanandaj, Iran (2018-2019)

Abstract

Background: Particulate or particle mattes in term of air pollution are particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5). PM2.5 is a natural source of air pollution and has harmful effects on citizens in Sanandaj City, located in the west of Iran. Methods: In this study, the hourly data of concentration of PM2.5 were taken from the Kurdistan Environmental Protection Agency. During the study period (2018-2019), the 24-hour concentration of PM2.5 exceeded 339 times the average level. By AirQ+ software, the relationship between data and Relative Risk (RR), Baseline Incidence (BI), and Attributable Proportion (AP) were estimated. Then chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, and brain stroke in the range of over 30 years were estimated. Results: The main target of this study was to survey the relationship between PM2.5 concentration and the death rate of citizens of this non-industrial city. The long-term health effect (more than 6 months) of PM2.5 caused 326 deaths on average (except for accidents and poisoning). Conclusion: Increase the concentration of PM2.5 is one factor that affects a high percentage of mortality rate.