Time‐Stratified Case Crossover Study of the Association of Outdoor Ambient Air Pollution With the Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Context of Seasonal Exposure to the Southeast Asian Haze Problem

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have demonstrated the association of air pollution with cardiovascular deaths. Singapore experiences seasonal transboundary haze. We investigated the association between air pollution and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) incidence in Singapore. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a time‐stratified case‐crossover study on all AMI cases in the Singapore Myocardial Infarction Registry (2010–2015). Exposure on days where AMI occurred (case days) were compared with the exposure on days where AMI did not occur (control days). Control days were chosen on the same day of the week earlier and later in the same month and year. We fitted conditional Poisson regression models to daily AMI incidence to include confounders such as ambient temperature, rainfall, wind‐speed, and Pollutant Standards Index. We assessed relationships between AMI incidence and Pollutant Standards Index in the entire cohort and subgroups of individual‐level characteristics. There were 53 948 cases. Each 30‐unit increase in Pollutant Standards Index was association with AMI incidence (incidence risk ratio [IRR] 1.04, 95% CI 1.03–1.06). In the subgroup of ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction the IRR was 1.00, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.03, while for non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction, the IRR was 1.08, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.10. Subgroup analyses showed generally significant. Moderate/unhealthy Pollutant Standards Index showed association with AMI occurrence with IRR 1.08, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.11 and IRR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.18, respectively. Excess risk remained elevated through the day of exposure and for >2 years after. CONCLUSIONS: We found an effect of short‐term air pollution on AMI incidence, especially non–ST‐segment–elevation myocardial infarction and inpatient AMI. These findings have public health implications for primary prevention and emergency health services during haze.