Respiratory diseases are positively associated with PM(2.5) concentrations in different areas of Taiwan

The health effects associated with fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) have attracted considerable public attention in recent decades. It has been verified that PM(2.5) can damage the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and cause various diseases. While the association between diseases and PM(2.5) has been widely studied, this work aims to analyze the association between PM(2.5) and hospital visit rates for respiratory diseases in Taiwan. To this end, a disease mapping model that considers spatial effects is applied to estimate the association. The results show that there is a positive association between hospital visit rates and the PM(2.5) concentrations in the Taiwanese population in 2012 after controlling for other variables, such as smoking rates and the number of hospitals in each region. This finding indicates that control of PM(2.5) could decrease hospital visit rates for respiratory diseases in Taiwan.