Survey on Air Pollution and Cardiopulmonary Mortality in Shiraz from 2011 to 2012: An Analytical-Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND: Expanding cities with rapid economic development has resulted in increased energy consumption leading to numerous environmental problems for their residents. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between air pollution and mortality rate due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in Shiraz. METHODS: This is an analytical cross-sectional study in which the correlation between major air pollutants (including carbon monoxide [CO], sulfur dioxide [SO(2)], nitrogen dioxide [NO(2)] and particle matter with a diameter of less than 10 μ [PM(10)]) and climatic parameters (temperature and relative humidity) with the number of those whom expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz from March 2011 to January 2012 was investigated. Data regarding the concentration of air pollutants were determined by Shiraz Environmental Organization. Information about climatic parameters was collected from the database of Iran's Meteorological Organization. The number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz were provided by the Department of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. We used non-parametric correlation test to analyze the relationship between these parameters. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that in all the recorded data, the average monthly pollutants standard index (PSI) values of PM(10) were higher than standard limits, while the average monthly PSI value of NO(2) were lower than standard. There was no significant relationship between the number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease and the air pollutant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution can aggravate chronic cardiopulmonary disease. In the current study, one of the most important air pollutants in Shiraz was the PM(10) component. Mechanical processes, such as wind blowing from neighboring countries, is the most important parameter increasing PM(10) in Shiraz to alarming conditions. The average monthly variation in PSI values of air pollutants such as NO(2), CO, and SO(2) were lower than standard limits. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between the average monthly variation in PSI of NO(2), CO, PM(10), and SO(2) and the number of those expired from cardiopulmonary disease in Shiraz.