Association between Daily Hydrogen Sulfide Exposure and Incidence of Emergency Hospital Visits: A Population-Based Study.

• Published in: PLOS ONE
• Main Authors: Finnbjornsdottir, Ragnhildur Gudrun, Carlsen, Hanne Krage, Thorsteinsson, Throstur, Oudin, Anna, Lund, Sigrun Helga, Gislason, Thorarinn, Rafnsson, Vilhjalmur
• Other Authors: 1 Univ Iceland, Ctr Publ Hlth Sci, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland 2 Umea Univ Hosp, Dept Publ Hlth & Clin Med, Occupat & Environm Med, S-90185 Umea, Sweden 3 Univ Iceland, Environm & Nat Resources, Sturlugotu 7, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland 4 Univ Iceland, Fac Med, Vatnsmyrarvegur 16 V Landspitala, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland 5 Landspitali Univ Hosp, Dept Resp Med & Sleep, IS-108 Reykjavik, Iceland Organization-Enhanced Name(s) Landspitali National University Hospital 6 Univ Iceland, Dept Prevent Med, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library Science 2016
• Subjects: Loftmengun; Bráðadeildir; Lungnasjúkdómar; Umhverfisáhrif; PAD12; Hydrogen Sulfide/adverse effects*; Iceland/epidemiology; Air Pollutants/adverse effects*; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects*; Respiratory Tract Diseases/etiology; Risk Assessment; Emergency Service; Hospital; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/615009; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154946

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access. The adverse health effects of high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposure are well known, though the possible effects of low concentrations have not been thoroughly studied. The aim was to study short-term associations between modelled ambient low-level concentrations of intermittent hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and emergency hospital visits with heart diseases (HD), respiratory diseases, and stroke as primary diagnosis. The study is population-based, using data from patient-, and population-registers from the only acute care institution in the Reykjavik capital area, between 1 January, 2007 and 30 June, 2014. The study population was individuals (≥18yr) living in the Reykjavik capital area. The H2S emission originates from a geothermal power plant in the vicinity. A model was used to estimate H2S exposure in different sections of the area. A generalized linear model assuming Poisson distribution was used to investigate the association between emergency hospital visits and H2S exposure. Distributed lag models were adjusted for seasonality, gender, age, traffic zones, and other relevant factors. Lag days from 0 to 4 were considered. The total number of emergency hospital visits was 32961 with a mean age of 70 years. In fully adjusted un-stratified models, H2S concentrations exceeding 7.00μg/m3 were associated with increases in emergency hospital visits with HD as primary diagnosis at lag 0 risk ratio (RR): 1.067; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.024-1.111, lag 2 RR: 1.049; 95%CI: 1.005-1.095, and lag 4 RR: 1.046; 95%CI: 1.004-1.089. Among males an association was found between H2S concentrations exceeding 7.00μg/m3, and HD at lag 0 RR: 1.087; 95%CI: 1.032-1.146 and lag 4 RR: 1080; 95%CI: 1.025-1.138; and among those 73 years and older at lag 0 RR: 1.075; 95%CI: 1.014-1.140 and lag 3 RR: 1.072; 95%CI: ...