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Public health risks of prolonged fine particle events associated with stagnation and air quality index based on fine particle matter with a diameter <2.5 μm in the Kaoping region of Taiwan

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Abstract

The increasing frequency of droughts in tropical and sub-tropical areas since 1970 due to climate change requires a better understanding of the relationship between public health and long-duration fine particle events (FPE; defined as a day with an average PM2.5 ≥ 35.5 μg/m3) associated with rainfall and wind speed. In the Kaoping region of Taiwan, 94.46 % of the daily average PM2.5 in winter exceeds the limit established by 2005 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. This study investigated the differences in winter weather characteristics and health effects between non-FPE and FPE days, and the performance of air quality indexes on FPE days. Z-statistics for one-tailed tests, multiplicative decomposition models, logarithmic regression, and product-moment correlations were used for the analysis. The results indicate that mean wind speeds, rainfall hours, and air temperature were significantly decreased on FPE days. Daily mean PM2.5 concentrations were positively correlated to the duration of FPE days. The duration of FPE days was positively related to the length of drought (r = 0.97, P < 0.05). The number of respiratory admissions was positively correlated with the FPE duration (r 2 = 0.60). The age groups >15 years experienced the largest average reduction in asthma admissions on lag-days. Compared to the pollutant standard index (PSI) and revised air quality index (RAQI), the PM2.5 index is more representative and sensitive to changes in PM2.5 concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Taiwan EPA and CWB for providing PM and meteorological data. This study made use of data from the National Health Insurance Research Database, provided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance and the Department of Health and managed by the National Health Research Institutes (Registration numbers NHIRD-99-317, NHIRD-100-300 and NHIRD-102-012). The interpretation and conclusions contained herein do not represent the opinions or influence of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Department of Health, or the National Health Research Institutes.

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  1. Centre for General Education, National Taipei University of Business, No. 321, Sec 1, Chi-Nan Rd, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Li-Wei Lai

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Correspondence to Li-Wei Lai.

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Lai, LW. Public health risks of prolonged fine particle events associated with stagnation and air quality index based on fine particle matter with a diameter <2.5 μm in the Kaoping region of Taiwan. Int J Biometeorol 60, 1907–1917 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1177-0

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