Backgrounds. The China Sandstorm has increasingly influenced the air quality of Taiwan in recent years. The concentrations of both coarse (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) particles were particularly increased in northern Taiwan during the past China Sand Storm periods. The potential health impact of the sand storm was much worried by the people and the authorities but was not investigated before. Objectives. To estimate adverse health effects caused by the China Sandstorms in 2002. Methods. We use emergency room visits due to respiratory (ICD9: 493, 496, 486, 460-465, 466, 472-473, 477) and cardiac diseases (ICD9: 410, 411, 414, 430-437) and lagged Poisson models to evaluate the health impact of during the 2002 China Sandstorm. The emergency room visits data are from two medical centers in Taipei, National Taiwan University Hospital and Shin Kong Memorial Hospital. We also use panels of susceptible populations to investigate the mechanisms of pollution effects caused by the China Sandstorm. The panels consist of 100 and 100 asthmatic children in National Taiwan University Hospital. Results. The emergency room visits due to respiratory and cardiac diseases increase during the 2002 the China Sandstorm. For respiratory diseases, the effects are more significant for children aged 0-6 with mild upper-respiratory illness (ICD9: 460-465, 466, 472-473, 477) with 1-3 day lags. The panel of cardiac patients shows significant increases in the coagulator factor of tPA and inflammatory marker of hs-CRP and decreases in heart rate variability (HRV) during the China Sandstorm period.

Sandstorm,health effects