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Impact of drought and airborne pollutants on pediatric asthma emergency department visits in Imperial County, California, USA
  • Aubrey L Doede,
  • Robert E. Davis,
  • Pam DeGuzman
Aubrey L Doede
University of Virginia

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Robert E. Davis
U. Virginia
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Pam DeGuzman
University of Virginia
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Abstract

The pediatric population is at a unique and increased risk of immediate and long-term health effects of asthma from air pollution. The years 2012-16 marked the worst drought in California, USA, in over a century. Imperial County’s landlocked Salton Sea is almost entirely dependent on agricultural runoff, where the water level has receded with drought conditions. Lakebed soil exposure may cause increased airborne particulate matter (PM), exacerbating asthma. Emergency department admissions and diagnosis codes for asthma were obtained for children ages 2-18, alongside population data to create population-weighted ZIP code buffers. Trajectory analysis, dispersion modeling, and meteorological data were used to determine likely PM exposure days. Drought severity data were used to establish a relationship between drought, exposure, and admissions. Conditional Poisson regression was used to determine the risk of Salton Sea dust exposure to asthma and moderating effects of drought. There is a significant relationship between exposure from the Salton Sea and admissions on exposure days (ERR 18.70%, p=0.012, 95%CI=3.936-35.623). Moderation analysis for drought indicated no significant effect from two indicators (ERR 1.005%, 95%CI =-0.0.084-1.111, p=0.714; ERR 104.44%, 95%CI=8.44-285.426, p=0.316), pointing to the possibility that particulates from the Salton Sea influence pediatric asthma. The large confidence interval is notable, suggesting the influence of additional pollutant sources, which is consistent with the study area, where a variety of factors may contribute to air quality. Drought severity was not a significant moderator between exposure and admissions, possibly due to the slow-response impact of drought that was not captured.