AIR-POLLUTION IN THE LATROBE VALLEY AND ITS IMPACT UPON RESPIRATORY MORBIDITY

Objective: To assess the relationship between air pollution and respir atory morbidity. Design: An ecological study of the daily hospital adm issions abstracted for the 1988 calendar year. Air quality data, inclu ding nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O-3) and pa rticulates, were obtained from the relevant authorities. Setting: Latr obe Valley, Victoria. subjects: Hospital admissions far asthma and Chr onic Obstructive Airways Disease. (COAD). Results: Them were significa nt associations (r=0.11 to 0.17) between airborne particles, nitrogen dioxide and respiratory morbidity. There was no significant relationsh ip between any of the pollutants and asthma admissions. However, multi -variate analysis confirmed that NO2 and particulates were associated with admissions for COAD. Conclusion: Respiratory morbidity appears to be affected even by the low air pollution levels in the Latrobe Valle y.