Archive | 2021
The Spatio-temporal Epidemiology of Asthma Patient Visits in Relation to Meteorological Parameters and Air Pollution Factors as a Result of Seasonal Change in Songkhla Province
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the demographic characteristics, seasonal variations, effects associated with air pollution, and geographic morbidity of asthma in Songkhla. Material and Methods: This research conducted a time series analysis of secondary data from 1 January, 2013 to 31 December, 2017. The distributed lag non-linear model was employed to analyze associations between air pollutants and daily asthma outpatient visits, and the Bayesian hierarchical modelling was used to map asthma morbidity spatiotemporally. Results: A total of 250,127 asthma diagnoses corresponding to 36,761 patients were found in the medical records. Most asthma outpatients were female (61.1%); males (1-5 years) constituted the majority of individuals during the first peak, while females (40-50 years) predominated the second peak. The trend analysis revealed a seasonal variation in the number of asthma outpatient visits; the highest rates were during the June-December period. The regression coefficient analysis revealed carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), relative humidity, and visibility to have the most J Health Sci Med Res ............... doi: 10.31584/jhsmr.2021822 www.jhsmr.org Bilheem S, et al. Spatio-temporal Epidemiology of Asthma and Air Pollution Journal of Health Science and Medical Research J Health Sci Med Res.................. 2 significant positive effect on asthma, while the cos (wind direction) had the highest negative effect/impact. Significant associations were found between outpatient gender and age and CO, NO 2 , sulfur dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter less than 10 micron. The Hat Yai and Central districts of Songkhla province were identified as morbidity hotspots. Conclusion: The number of asthma-related outpatient visits increased during the rainy season. Asthma affected primarily young boys and middle-aged women in this province, and they constitute the most sensitive group to air pollutants such as CO and NO 2 and meteorological conditions like relative humidity and visibility. The highest morbidity rates were found in urbanized habitats.