Association between chronic exposure to air pollution and mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome

- Impact of chronic air pollution on outcomes in ARDS not known.
- Nationwide analysis with ambient ozone and particulate matter pollution from EPA.
- Residence in top 15 most polluted ozone areas associated with higher rates of mortality.
- Increased exposure for both ozone and particulate matter associated with worse survival.

The impact of chronic exposure to air pollution and outcomes in the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is unknown. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2011 was utilized for this analysis. The NIS is a national database that captures 20% of all US in-patient hospitalizations from 47 states. Patients with ARDS who underwent mechanical ventilation from the highest 15 ozone pollution cities were compared with the rest of the country. Secondary analyses assessed outcomes of ARDS patients for ozone pollution and particulate matter pollution on a continuous scale by county of residence. A total of 8,023,590 hospital admissions from the 2011 NIS sample were analyzed. There were 93,950 patients who underwent mechanical ventilation for ARDS included in the study. Patients treated in high ozone regions had significantly higher unadjusted hospital mortality (34.9% versus 30.8%, p < 0.01) than patients in cities with control levels of ozone. After controlling for all variables in the model, treatment in a hospital located in a high ozone pollution area was associated with an increased odds of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.08-1.15, p < 0.01). After adjustment for all variables in the model, for each increase in ozone exposure by 0.01 ppm the OR for death was 1.07 (95% CI 1.06-1.08, p < 0.01). Similarly, for each increase in particulate matter exposure by 10 μg/m3, the OR for death was 1.08 (95% CI 1.02-1.16, p < 0.01).Chronic exposure to both ozone and particulate matter pollution is associated with higher rates of mortality in ARDS. These preliminary findings need to be confirmed by further detailed studies.