AIR POLLUTION BY FINE PARTICULATE MATERIAL ON HOSPITALIZATION FOR RESPIRATORY DISEASES IN THE ELDERLY

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the effects of air pollution exposure on hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in the elderly. Methods: this was an ecological time series study in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, during the years 2015 and 2016. Daily levels of fine particulate matter PM2.5 and carbon monoxide were estimated and made available by the National Institute for Space Research. Variables related to temperature, relative humidity and adjustments for temporal trend, seasonality and calendar effects were included in the stochastic model of the ARIMA class (integrated autoregressive moving averages). Results: During the period selected for data collection, there were 1556 hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in Cuiabá. It was verified with this study that the number of cases of respiratory hospitalizations in the elderly was higher between the months of May and September 2015, despite a smaller number of occurrences, in the same period of 2016. As for the monthly average number of hospitalizations of elderly people aged 60 or over, these ranged from 41 hospitalizations in December 2016 to 103 hospitalizations in May 2015. Conclusion: The present study found an association between an increase in PM2.5 and a greater number of hospitalizations of elderly people with 60 years or older due to respiratory diseases. These results are consistent with some other studies found in other investigations on the subject.