The Relationship Between Air Pollution and Development of Chest Pain in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in Seoul |
Ik Joon Jo, Jung Ho Shin, Sung Koo Jung, Gil Joon Suh, Joong Eui Rhee, Yeon Kwon Jeong, Chang Hyun Lee, Yeo Kyu Youn |
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. suhgil@snu.ac.kr 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul Korea. 3Department of Surpery, Cheju National University, College of Medicine, Cheju, Korea. |
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ABSTRACT |
PURPOSE: There have been some studies on the hazardous effects of air pollution for patients with cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the possible relationship between air pollution and development of chest pain in acute coronary syndrome patients.
METHODS: The medical records of 109 acute coronary syndrome patients, who visited two university hospital emergency rooms in the Seoul area between January 1999 and July 2001, were reviewed. Hourly concentrations of particulate mass < 10 micrometa and of four gaseous air pollutants were measured at 19 different points in the Seoul area. The data were analyzed using a case-crossover approach.
RESULTS: The analysis of the data showed no definite relationship between chest pain development and either the concentrations of particulate mass < 10 micrometa (PM10) or of four gaseous air pollutants: namely, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and sulfur dioxide ( SO2). However, increases in the concentrations of particulate matter, gaseous NO2, and gaseous O3 showed a positive correlation, but without statistical significance.
CONCLUSION: This study shows no relationship between the concentrations of PM10 and other air pollutants with the development of chest pain in acute coronary syndrome patients. However, for particulate mass < 2.5 micrometa, which is currently not measured in the Seoul area, the possibility of a relationship between development of chest pain in acute coronary syndrome patients and particulate air pollutants still exists. |
Key words:
Air pollution, Acute coronary syndrome, Chest pain |
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