Short-term effect of high temperatures, hours of sunlight, and chemical pollution on daily emergency hospital admissions due to endocrine and metabolic causes in the Madrid region, Spain (2013-2018)

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Studies which analyse the joint effect of acoustic or chemical air pollution variables and different meteorological variables on neuroendocrine disease are practically nonexistent. This study therefore sought to analyse the impact of air pollutants and environmental meteorological variables on daily unscheduled admissions due to endocrine and metabolic diseases in the Madrid Region from 01.01.2013 to 31.12.2018. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal, retrospective, ecological study of daily time series analysed by Poisson regression, with emergency neuroendocrine-disease admissions in the Madrid Region as the dependent variable. The independent variables were: mean daily concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and O3; acoustic pollution; temperature; hours of sunlight; relative humidity; wind speed; and air pressure above sea level. Estimators of the statistically significant variables were used to calculate the relative risks (RRs). Results: A statistically significant association was found between the increase in temperatures in heat waves, RR: 1.123 95%CI (1.001-1.018), and the number of emergency admissions, making it the main risk factor. An association between a decrease in sunlight and an increase in hospital admissions, RR: 1.005 95%CI (1.002-1.008), was likewise observed. Similarly, ozone, in the form of mean daily concentrations in excess of 44 μg/m3, had an impact on admissions due to neuroendocrine disease, RR: 1.010 95%CI (1.007-1.035). The breakdown by sex showed that in the case of women, NO2 was also a risk factor, RR: 1.021 95%CI (1.007-1.035). Conclusions/Recommendations: The results obtained in this study serve to identify risk factors for this disease, such as extreme temperatures in heat waves, O3 or NO2. The robust association found between the decrease in sunlight and increase in hospital admissions due to neuroendocrine disease serves to spotlight an environmental factor which has received scant attention in public health until now.