Abstract

FREITAS, Clarice Umbelino de et al. Air pollution in Brazilian cities: selecting health impact indicators for surveillance. Epidemiol. Serv. Saúde [online]. 2013, vol.22, n.3, pp.445-454. ISSN 1679-4974.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/S1679-49742013000300009.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the health impact of air pollution in Brazilian cities and to select effect indicators for surveillance purposes. METHODS: based on hospital inpatient and fine particulate matter (PM10) data, a study was performed using time series models, in particular Generalized Additive Models with Poisson regression to estimate the impact of air pollution on health. We analyzed hospital admissions for total respiratory illnesses (TBI), admissions for respiratory diseases in children under 5 years old (BDC) and admissions for cardiovascular diseases in adults (CVD) in 21 cities. The best effect indicator was selected based on the proportion of statistically significant results. RESULTS: we found a significant relationship in 81% of locations for TBI, 89% for BDC and 50% for CVD. CONCLUSIONS: significant relationships were found for most cities. BDC were considered the best effect indicator, closely followed by TBI. Both can therefore be used for surveillance purposes.

Keywords : Environmental Health Indicators; Hospitalization; Air Pollution; Time Series Studies; Surveillance.

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