PM^sub 2.5^ Constituents and Hospital Emergency-Room Visits in Shanghai, China

Although ambient ... has been linked to adverse health effects, the chemical constituents that cause harm are largely unclear. Few prior studies in a developing country have reported the health impacts of ... constituents. In this study, we examined the short-term association between ... constituents and emergency room visits in Shanghai, China. We measured daily concentrations of ..., organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and eight water-soluble ions between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012. We analyzed the data using overdispersed generalized linear Poisson models. During our study period, the mean daily average concentration of ... in Shanghai was 55 ...g/m... Major contributors to ... mass included OC, EC, sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium. For a 1-day lag, an interquartile range increment in ... mass (36.47 ...g/m...) corresponded to 0.57% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13%, 1.01%] increase of emergency room visits. In all the three models used, we found significant positive associations of emergency room visits with OC and EC. Our findings suggest that ... constituents from the combustion of fossil fuel (e.g., OC and EC) may have an appreciable influence on the health impact attributable to ... (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)