• Yuming Guo, Shilu Tong, Yanshen Zhang, Adrian G Barnett, Yuping Jia, and Xiaochuan Pan.
• School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, Queensland 4059, Australia. guoyuming@yahoo.cn
• Sci. Total Environ. 2010 Sep 15;408(20):4446-50.

BackgroundA number of epidemiological studies have examined the adverse effect of air pollution on mortality and morbidity. Also, several studies have investigated the associations between air pollution and specific-cause diseases including arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. However, little is known about the relationship between air pollution and the onset of hypertension.ObjectiveTo explore the risk effect of particulate matter air pollution on the emergency hospital visits (EHVs) for hypertension in Beijing, China.MethodsWe gathered data on daily EHVs for hypertension, fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5)), particulate matter less than 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)), sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide in Beijing, China during 2007. A time-stratified case-crossover design with distributed lag model was used to evaluate associations between ambient air pollutants and hypertension. Daily mean temperature and relative humidity were controlled in all models.ResultsThere were 1,491 EHVs for hypertension during the study period. In single pollutant models, an increase in 10 microg/m(3) in PM(2.5) and PM(10) was associated with EHVs for hypertension with odds ratios (overall effect of five days) of 1.084 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.028, 1.139) and 1.060% (95% CI: 1.020, 1.101), respectively.ConclusionElevated levels of ambient particulate matters are associated with an increase in EHVs for hypertension in Beijing, China.Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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