Mu Haosheng, Otani Shinji, Okamoto Mikizo, Yokoyama Yae, Tokushima Yasuko, Onishi Kazunari, Hosoda Takenobu, Kurozawa Youichi
Division of Health Administration and Promotion, Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.
†Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.
Yonago Acta Med. 2014 Dec;57(4):133-6. Epub 2014 Dec 26.
The air quality index (AQI) is widely used to characterize the quality of ambient air. Chinese cities officially report the AQI on a daily basis. To assess the possible effects of air pollution on daily outpatient visits, we examined the association between AQI and the daily outpatient count.
Daily data on outpatient visits to each clinical department were collected from the Z county hospital of Datong City, China. The collection period was between 5 April and 30 June, 2012. Daily AQI data and meteorological information were simultaneously recorded. We compared outpatient counts between the index days and comparison days, and calculated Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient between outpatient counts and AQI levels.
The average AQI level for index days was significantly higher than that for comparison days. No significant difference was observed in temperature or relative humidity between index days and comparison days. The outpatient counts for pediatrics were significantly higher on index days than on comparison days, and no significant difference was noted in other clinical departments. The outpatient counts for pediatrics positively correlated with the AQI level, and no correlation was noted in other clinical departments.
The present study assessed the association between daily outpatient visits and air pollution using AQI. The results obtained suggest that air pollution could increase the outpatient count for pediatrics.
空气质量指数（AQI）被广泛用于描述环境空气质量。中国城市每日都会官方公布AQI。为评估空气污染对每日门诊量可能产生的影响，我们研究了AQI与每日门诊量之间的关联。
收集了中国大同市Z县医院各临床科室的每日门诊数据。收集时间段为2012年4月5日至6月30日。同时记录每日AQI数据和气象信息。我们比较了指标日和对照日的门诊量，并计算了门诊量与AQI水平之间的Pearson积矩相关系数。
指标日的平均AQI水平显著高于对照日。指标日和对照日之间在温度或相对湿度方面未观察到显著差异。儿科在指标日的门诊量显著高于对照日，其他临床科室未观察到显著差异。儿科门诊量与AQI水平呈正相关，其他临床科室未观察到相关性。
本研究使用AQI评估了每日门诊量与空气污染之间的关联。所得结果表明空气污染可能会增加儿科的门诊量。
