Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China

Abstract At present, with increasing awareness of the relationship between respiratory disease and air pollution, it is critical to assess the environmental risk factors for influenza. This study aimed to estimate the associations between ambient air pollution and the number of influenza-like illnes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ye Lv, Hong Xu, Zhou Sun, Muwen Liu, Shanshan Xu, Jing Wang, Chaokang Li, Hui Ye, Xuhui Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95085-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850208523244273664
author Ye Lv
Hong Xu
Zhou Sun
Muwen Liu
Shanshan Xu
Jing Wang
Chaokang Li
Hui Ye
Xuhui Yang
author_facet Ye Lv
Hong Xu
Zhou Sun
Muwen Liu
Shanshan Xu
Jing Wang
Chaokang Li
Hui Ye
Xuhui Yang
author_sort Ye Lv
collection DOAJ
description Abstract At present, with increasing awareness of the relationship between respiratory disease and air pollution, it is critical to assess the environmental risk factors for influenza. This study aimed to estimate the associations between ambient air pollution and the number of influenza-like illness (ILI) cases in Hangzhou, China, from 2015 to 2021. Weekly meteorological data, including average ambient temperature and average relative humidity, from December 29, 2014 to January 2, 2022 were collected from the Hangzhou Meteorological Service Center, and air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ground-level ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), and PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), were collected from National Ambient Air Quality Automatic Monitoring Stations in Hangzhou. The number of weekly ILI cases was collected from 15 influenza surveillance sentinel hospitals in Hangzhou. A generalized linear model (GLM) with quasi-Poisson regression was adopted to estimate the association between air pollution and ILI. After adjusting for the effects of average temperature, relative humidity, and seasonal and long-term trends, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2 were found to be significantly associated with the number of ILI cases, with relative risk (RR) values of 1.018 (95% CI 1.001–1.036), 1.016 (1.005–1.028), 1.063 (1.067–1.364), and 1.207 (1.067–1.364), respectively. In the two-pollutant model, putting PM2.5, PM10, NO2, or SO2 into the model separately with O3 produced results similar to those of the single-pollutant model. PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 have statistical significance in cold seasons, with the RR values of 1.020 (95% CI 1.001–1.038), 1.012 (95% CI 1.000-1.024), and 1.060 (95% CI 1.031–1.090), respectively. In summary, our study found that most air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2) have a significant association with the risk of ILI cases in Hangzhou. These findings can serve as a reference for the formulation of effective protective measures.
format Article
id doaj-art-ff620bae3d404b5d9750331bb85b29a0
institution OA Journals
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-ff620bae3d404b5d9750331bb85b29a02025-08-20T02:10:13ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-011511910.1038/s41598-025-95085-9Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, ChinaYe Lv0Hong Xu1Zhou Sun2Muwen Liu3Shanshan Xu4Jing Wang5Chaokang Li6Hui Ye7Xuhui Yang8Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center of HangzhouHangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hangzhou Health Supervision Institution)Abstract At present, with increasing awareness of the relationship between respiratory disease and air pollution, it is critical to assess the environmental risk factors for influenza. This study aimed to estimate the associations between ambient air pollution and the number of influenza-like illness (ILI) cases in Hangzhou, China, from 2015 to 2021. Weekly meteorological data, including average ambient temperature and average relative humidity, from December 29, 2014 to January 2, 2022 were collected from the Hangzhou Meteorological Service Center, and air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ground-level ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), and PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), were collected from National Ambient Air Quality Automatic Monitoring Stations in Hangzhou. The number of weekly ILI cases was collected from 15 influenza surveillance sentinel hospitals in Hangzhou. A generalized linear model (GLM) with quasi-Poisson regression was adopted to estimate the association between air pollution and ILI. After adjusting for the effects of average temperature, relative humidity, and seasonal and long-term trends, PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and SO2 were found to be significantly associated with the number of ILI cases, with relative risk (RR) values of 1.018 (95% CI 1.001–1.036), 1.016 (1.005–1.028), 1.063 (1.067–1.364), and 1.207 (1.067–1.364), respectively. In the two-pollutant model, putting PM2.5, PM10, NO2, or SO2 into the model separately with O3 produced results similar to those of the single-pollutant model. PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 have statistical significance in cold seasons, with the RR values of 1.020 (95% CI 1.001–1.038), 1.012 (95% CI 1.000-1.024), and 1.060 (95% CI 1.031–1.090), respectively. In summary, our study found that most air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2) have a significant association with the risk of ILI cases in Hangzhou. These findings can serve as a reference for the formulation of effective protective measures.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95085-9Air pollutionInfluenza-like illnessGeneralized linear modelEnvironmental epidemiology
spellingShingle Ye Lv
Hong Xu
Zhou Sun
Muwen Liu
Shanshan Xu
Jing Wang
Chaokang Li
Hui Ye
Xuhui Yang
Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
Scientific Reports
Air pollution
Influenza-like illness
Generalized linear model
Environmental epidemiology
title Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
title_full Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
title_fullStr Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
title_full_unstemmed Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
title_short Acute effects of air pollutants on influenza-like illness in Hangzhou, China
title_sort acute effects of air pollutants on influenza like illness in hangzhou china
topic Air pollution
Influenza-like illness
Generalized linear model
Environmental epidemiology
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95085-9
work_keys_str_mv AT yelv acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT hongxu acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT zhousun acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT muwenliu acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT shanshanxu acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT jingwang acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT chaokangli acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT huiye acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina
AT xuhuiyang acuteeffectsofairpollutantsoninfluenzalikeillnessinhangzhouchina