School of Biological and Population Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA; Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
Environ Res. 2018 Oct;166:402-408. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.06.022. Epub 2018 Jun 21.
Pediatric asthma is a common chronic condition that can be exacerbated by environmental exposures, and unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) has been associated with decreased community air quality. This study aims to quantify the association between UNGD and pediatric asthma hospitalizations.
We compare pediatric asthma hospitalizations among zip codes with and without exposure to UNGD between 2003 and 2014 using a difference-in-differences panel analysis. Our UNGD exposure metrics include cumulative and contemporaneous drilling as well as reported air emissions by site.
We observed consistently elevated odds of hospitalizations in the top tertile of pediatric patients exposed to unconventional drilling compared with their unexposed peers. During the same quarter a well was drilled, we find a 25% increase (95% CI: 1.07, 1.47) in the odds of being hospitalized for asthma. Ever-establishment of an UNGD well within a zip code was associated with a 1.19 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.36) increased odds of a pediatric asthma hospitalization. Our results further demonstrate that increasing specific air emissions from UNGD sites are associated with increased risks of pediatric asthma hospitalizations (e.g. 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, formaldehyde, x-hexane). These results hold across multiple age groups and sensitivity analyses.
Community-level UNGD exposure metrics were associated with increased odds of pediatric asthma-related hospitalization among young children and adolescents. This study provides evidence that additional regulations may be necessary to protect children's respiratory health from UNGD activities.
儿童哮喘是一种常见的慢性疾病，可能会因环境暴露而加重，非常规天然气开发（UNGD）已与社区空气质量下降有关。本研究旨在量化 UNGD 与儿科哮喘住院之间的关联。
我们比较了 2003 年至 2014 年间有和没有接触 UNGD 的邮政编码之间儿科哮喘住院的差异。我们的 UNGD 暴露指标包括累积和同期钻井以及按地点报告的空气排放。
我们观察到，与未接触非常规钻井的同龄人相比，暴露于非常规钻井的顶级三分位儿科患者住院的几率始终较高。在同一季度钻井期间，我们发现哮喘住院的几率增加了 25%（95%CI：1.07，1.47）。邮政编码内 UNGD 井的永久设立与儿科哮喘住院的几率增加 1.19（95%CI：1.04，1.36）相关。我们的结果进一步表明，UNGD 站点的特定空气排放增加与儿科哮喘住院的风险增加相关（例如，2,2,4-三甲基戊烷、甲醛、正己烷）。这些结果在多个年龄组和敏感性分析中均成立。
社区层面的 UNGD 暴露指标与幼儿和青少年哮喘相关住院的几率增加有关。本研究提供了证据，表明可能需要额外的法规来保护儿童的呼吸道健康免受 UNGD 活动的影响。
