Biomaterial Database

Urban heat island and air pollution--an emerging role for hospital respiratory admissions in an urban area. 2010

Li-Wei Lai, and Wan-Li Cheng

Center of General Education, National Taipei College of Business, Taiwan, ROC. d89228001@ntu.edu.tw

The aim of the study discussed here was to determine the associations among the urban heat island (UHI), air quality, and hospital respiratory admissions in the warm center of an urban area. The authors collected and analyzed the data regarding air quality parameters, meteorological parameters, and the daily hospital respiratory admissions in the Taichung metropolis in the autumns of 2003 and 2004. By collecting the vertical meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations via the tethersonde balloon technique, the authors simulated convergence in Dali using The Air Pollution Model (TAPM) for the atmospheric conditions. The authors also examined the hypotheses with Duncan's Multiple Range test, and analyzed spatial patterns vis-à-vis air temperature, air quality, and hospital respiratory admissions with GIS. The results indicated that the UHI phenomenon-which generates convergence and then transports air pollutants to a metropolitan area-increases hospital respiratory admissions in the warm center of an urban area.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D012140	Respiratory Tract Diseases	Diseases involving the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.	Respiratory Diseases,Respiratory System Diseases,Disease, Respiratory System,Disease, Respiratory Tract,Respiratory System Disease,Respiratory Tract Disease
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004781	Environmental Exposure	The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.	Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D004784	Environmental Monitoring	The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.	Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D005260	Female		Females