Increasing emergency room visits for stroke by elevated levels of fine particulate constituents

The associations between fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and stroke remain inconsistent. We conducted a time-series study to evaluate emergency room (ER) visits for ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes in relation to PM_2.5 and its constituents. Generalized additive models were used to model the counts of daily ER visits for ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes among patients admitted to the National Taiwan University Hospital from 1 January 2004 to 31 August 2008. Exposure variables included PM_2.5 and the four constituents, nitrate, sulfate, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC). 12,982 ischemic stroke and 3362 hemorrhagic stroke cases were identified during the study period. For hemorrhagic stroke, the strongest relative risks (RRs) of ER visits were 1.19 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.32] and 1.08 (95% CI, 1.02-1.15) for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in 3-day average nitrate and EC. For ischemic stroke, increased RRs of ER visits of 1.21 (95% CI, 1.07-1.36) and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.06-1.31) were observed in the warm season for an IQR increase in 3-day average of OC and EC, respectively. PM_2.5 and OC were associated with increased RRs of ER visits for ischemic stroke among patients aged 65years or older and female patients. In conclusion, PM_2.5 constituents, rather than PM_2.5 mass, are more closely related to ER visits for hemorrhagic stroke. Both PM_2.5 mass and its chemical constituents are associated with ER visits for ischemic stroke in the warm season, among patients older than 65years, and female patients.