Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Sep 14;195(10):1208. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-11758-w.
Asthma prevalence and morbidity are increasing rapidly worldwide, especially in developing countries. Previous studies have shown nitrogen dioxide as an important contributor to asthma prevalence along with extreme temperatures, relative humidity, and land use change. The present study aimed to assess the asthma epidemiology and association of nitrogen dioxide, temperature, and land use as a contributing factor for increasing asthma prevalence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Secondary data related to the frequency of asthmatics hospital visits were analyzed to figure out the hotspots of asthma by using Getis ord Gi* statistics in ArcGIS 10.2. Moreover, intraurban variation of nitrogen dioxide concentration was analyzed by passive sampling method and its association with the rate of asthmatics hospital visits in Rawalpindi, Pakistan was also researched. Results revealed the random distribution of disease with significant hotspots along with spatial variability of nitrogen dioxide in urban and rural locations. Indoor and outdoor levels of nitrogen dioxide exceed the national and world health organization standards on asthma high risk areas especially in winter season. Congested housing with poor ventilation, unplanned urbanization, cold temperature, and unclean fuel use are revealed as strong determinants of asthma prevalence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Extensive monitoring and interventions are needed for the reduction of both indoor and outdoor nitrogen dioxide levels to overcome the increasing rate of asthma prevalence.
哮喘的患病率和发病率在全球范围内迅速上升，尤其是在发展中国家。先前的研究表明，二氧化氮是哮喘患病率的一个重要影响因素，此外还有极端温度、相对湿度和土地利用变化。本研究旨在评估哮喘的流行病学，并评估二氧化氮、温度和土地利用作为导致巴基斯坦拉瓦尔品第哮喘患病率上升的因素。利用 ArcGIS 10.2 中的 Getis ord Gi* 统计数据，分析与哮喘患者就诊频率相关的二次数据，以确定哮喘的热点地区。此外，还通过被动采样法分析了城市内二氧化氮浓度的变化，并研究了其与巴基斯坦拉瓦尔品第哮喘患者就诊率的关系。结果表明，疾病呈随机分布，具有显著的热点地区，同时城市和农村地区的二氧化氮也存在空间变异性。室内和室外的二氧化氮水平超过了国家和世界卫生组织在哮喘高风险地区的标准，尤其是在冬季。拥挤的住房、通风不良、无规划的城市化、寒冷的温度和不洁燃料的使用被揭示为导致巴基斯坦拉瓦尔品第哮喘患病率上升的主要因素。需要进行广泛的监测和干预，以降低室内和室外的二氧化氮水平，从而降低哮喘患病率的上升速度。
