Correlation between atmospheric air pollution by nitrogen dioxide meteorological parameters and the number of patients admitted to the Emergency Department Korelacija između atmosferskog zagađenja zraka dušikovim dioksidom, meteorološkim parametrima te brojem pacijenata primljenim u hitan odjel

In recent years there has been more awareness about the impact of air pollution on the incidence of acute and chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of certain meteorological factors, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air and the number of patients who were admitted in the Emergency Department of Internal Medicine, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb, over the period of two years. The total number of patients was 44,245. The study took into consideration the observed meteorological parameters (temperature, atmospheric pressure, atmospheric moisture) during the cooler and warmer periods of the year and the nitrogen dioxide concentrations during the study period. The results showed that the total number of patients coming to the Emergency Department was the largest in summer. The correlation of the number of patients admitted to the Emergency Department with meteorological conditions and air pollution parameters showed that the total number of patients in the Emergency Department was proportionally higher with higher temperature (r = 0.164, p < 0.001), higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide (r = 0.219, p < 0.001) and inversely proportional with the average daily moisture (r = -0.116, p = 0.002) and the average daily atmospheric pressure (r = -0.096, p = 0.009). Taking account of the time of the year, more patients were admitted in the Emergency Department in the summer months, especially during days when the value of nitrogen dioxide was high (r = 0.569, p < 0.001), as well as when the temperatures were high (r = 0.195, p = 0.008). According to these results, there is a need for further research into the importance of the photochemical processes and their impact on human health, especially on chronic patients.