Impact of air pollution and climate on a pediatric emergency department visits in Buenos Aires City

Objective: to evaluate the impact of air pollution and weather changes on the number of visits to a pediatric emergency department in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Materials and methods: we designed an ecological time-series study using generalized additive models (GAM) for the period 2012-2014. The outcome variable was the number of daily visits to a pediatric emergency department taking into account daily consultations. The potential predictors were the average daily air pollution levels (carbon monoxide -CO-, nitrogen dioxide -NO2-, particulate matter 10 microns or less in diameter -PM10-) and weather variables (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and rainfall) and we controlled by weekday and long-time trend. Results: the number of visits during the winter months (286 daily) was significantly higher than those in the other seasons (p <0.0001). The change in air pollution levels did not show a significant and consistent correlation with the visits. Temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and wind speed and direction were not significant variables for any of the examined lags. Conclusions: Considering the population and variables of our study, air pollution does not affect the health outcomes, as does seasonal epidemics. Studies that examine other health variables are necessary to establish the impact of air pollution on children’s health in Buenos Aires.