Short-term effects of air pollutants on outpatients with psoriasis in a Chinese city with a subtropical monsoon climate

Psoriasis is a common skin disease that seriously affects patients' quality of life. The association of air pollutants with psoriasis, and the extent of their effects remains unclear. Based on a distributed lag non-linear model, this study explored the short-term effects of air pollutants on outpatients with psoriasis in Hefei, China, between 2015 and 2019 by analyzing the exposure-lag-response relationship, after controlling for confounding influences such as meteorological factors, long-term trends, day of the week, and holidays. Stratified analyses were performed for patients of different ages and genders. The maximum relative risks of psoriasis outpatients' exposure to SO , NO , and O were 1.023 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.004-1.043), 1.170 (95% CI: 1.046-1.307), and 1.059 (95% CI: 1.030-1.090), respectively. An increase of 10 μ / of NO was associated with a 2.1% (95% CI: 0.7-3.5%) increase in outpatients with psoriasis, and a decrease of 10 μ / of O was associated with an 0.8% (95% CI: 0.4-1.2%) increase in outpatients with psoriasis. Stratified analyses showed that male subjects were more sensitive to a change in meteorological factors, while female subjects and outpatients with psoriasis aged 0-17 years old were more sensitive to a change in air pollutants. Short-term air pollutant exposures were associated with outpatients having psoriasis, suggesting that patients and high-risk people with psoriasis should reduce their time spent outside and improve their skin protection gear when air quality is poor.