Effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisations in areas with a low level of air pollution

Exposure to air pollution is associated with increased cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the evidence regarding the short-term effect of air pollution on cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisations in areas with relatively low air pollution levels is limited. This study aims to examine the effect of short-term exposure to different air pollutants on hospital admissions due to cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases in rural and regional Australia with low air pollution. The study was conducted in five local Government areas of Hunter New England Local Health District (HNE-LHD). Hospitalisation data from January 2018 to February 2020 (820 days) were accessed from the HNE-LHD admitted patients’ dataset. Poisson regression model was used to examine the association between the exposure (air pollutants) and outcome variables (hospitalisation due to cardio- and cerebrovascular disease). The concentrations of gaseous air pollutants, Sulphur Dioxide (SO(2)), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO(2)), Ozone (O(3)), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Ammonia (NH(3)) were below national benchmark concentrations for every day of the study period. In single pollutant models, SO(2) and NO(2) significantly increased the daily number of cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisations. The highest cumulative effect for SO(2) was observed across lag 0–3 days (Incidence Rate Ratio, IRR: 1.77; 95% Confidence Interval, CI: 1.18–2.65; p-value: 0.01), and for NO(2), it was across lag 0–2 days (IRR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.02–1.25; p-value: 0.02). In contrast, higher O(3) was associated with decreased cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisations, with the largest effect observed at lag 0 (IRR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.89–0.98; p-value: 0.02). In the multi-pollutant model, the effect of NO(2) remained significant at lag 0 and corresponded to a 21% increase in cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisation (95% CI: 1–44%; p-value = 0.04). Thus, the study revealed that gaseous air pollutants, specifically NO(2), were positively related to increased cardio- and cerebrovascular hospitalisations, even at concentrations below the national standards. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-023-29544-z.