Associations between air pollutant levels and medical care visits for atopic dermatitis

Background: The prevalence of Atopic dermatitis (AD) is rising in most industrialized countries, and it causes increased burden and costs in public health systems. Over the past decades, studies for effects of air pollution to human health were conducted and revealed considerable evidences that air pollutants ca Objectives: To estimate the effect of air pollutants on hospital visits of AD in Incheon and analyse the associating factors Methods: The study subjects were any medical care visits for atopic dermatitis in 2012-2015, which were identified by national health insurance claims data in Incheon, Republic of Korea. Air pollutants considered in this study were obtained from the Ministry of Environment Results: When using the pollutant levels of the current day and cumulative models to day 7, higher PM10, O3, and SO 2 significantly increased the risk of medical care visits for atopic dermatitis. In contrast, NO 2 and CO showed an inverse association with medical care visits for atopic dermatitis. There were no remarkable differences across age, gender and insurance groups in the risk for medical visits for atopic dermatitis. Higher risks were shown in those with previous AD diagnosis (PM10 and SO 2 ) and those with allergic rhinitis (PM10, O 3 , and SO 2 ) Conclusion: This study suggests that exposure to PM10, O3 and SO2 increase the hospital visit of AD in short-term period. Significant variables are underlying disease such as AD and allergic rhinitis