Acute effects of ambient air pollution on daily neurology clinic visits for vertigo: a time-series study in Wuhan, China.

This study aimed to disclose the relationship between ambient air pollution and neurology clinic visits (NCVs) for vertigo. A time-series study was conducted to examine relationships between six different criteria air pollutants (SO, NO, PM, PM, CO, and O) and daily NCVs for vertigo in Wuhan, China, from January 1st, 2017 to November 30th, 2019. Stratified analyses were computed according to gender, age, and season. A total of 14,749 records of NCVs for vertigo were enrolled in this study. Data showed that the increase in daily NCVs for vertigo corresponding to 10 μg/m increase of respective pollutants are: SO (- 7.60%; 95% CI: - 14.25 to - 0.44%), NO (3.14%; 95% CI: 0.23 to 6.13%), PM (0.53%; 95% CI: - 0.66 to 1.74%), PM (1.32%; 95% CI: - 0.36 to 3.06%), CO (0.00%; 95% CI: - 0.12 to 0.13%), and O (0.90%; 95% CI: - 0.01% to 1.83%). Males were more susceptible to acute exposure to SO and NO, compared to females (SO: - 11.91% vs. - 4.16%; NO: 3.95% vs. 2.92%), whereas the acute effect of O exposure was more significantly obvious in females than males (0.94% vs. 0.87%). Moreover, correlations between daily NCVs for vertigo and acute exposure to SO, NO, and O were all stronger in individuals under 50 years old (SO: - 12.75% vs. - 4.41%; NO: 4.55% vs. 2.75%; O: 1.27% vs. 0.70%). Short-term exposure to PM was more significantly associated with daily NCVs for vertigo in cool seasons (1.62% vs. - 0.68%), while the correlation between CO exposure and daily NCVs for vertigo was stronger in warm seasons (0.21% vs. - 0.03%). Our study demonstrated acute exposure to ambient NO and O positively associated with daily NCVs for vertigo. Acute effects of air pollution on daily NCVs for vertigo varied according to gender, age, and season.