Atmospheric pollution and respiratory diseases in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Abstract

Introduction: Atmospheric pollution is an environmental problem that negatively affects health. Objective: To associate the levels of atmospheric pollution with respiratory morbidity. Materials and Methods: An ecological observational study was conducted with the urban population of the city of Cochabamba from January 1^st, 2012 to December 31^st, 2016. Data was collected through the Cochabamba Air Quality Monitoring Network (Semapa, Coña Coña and Kanata Park stations) and the Viedma Clinical Hospital. The statistical analysis was performed using Spearman’s rank correlation test. Results: The average number of weekly cases of respiratory diseases showed a very weak positive correlation with a weekly average of PM₁₀ in the three atmospheric monitoring stations (r = 0.181, p < 0.004; r = 0.242, p < 0.001; r = 0.183, p < 0.011) and a weak or very weak positive correlation with a weekly average of NO₂ recorded every hour (r = 0.365, p < 0.000; r = 0.127, p < 0.05). A weak negative correlation with the weekly average of RH (r = -0.388, p < 0.000) and a very weak correlation with the weekly average of precipitations (r = -0.250, p < 0.000) was also consistently observed. Discussion and Conclusions: A weak or very weak positive linear correlation was observed between the weekly admissions due to respiratory diseases and the average of atmospheric pollutants over the period 2012-2016.

Como citar este artigo: Souza RCS, Siqueira EMP, Meira L, Araujo GL, Bersaneti MDR. Retenção de conhecimento dos enfermeiros sobre derivação ventricular externa. Rev Cuid. 2020; 11(1): e748. http://dx.doi.org/10.15649/cuidarte.784