Short-Term Effects of Ambient air Pollution on Pediatric Hospital Visits for Respiratory Diseases in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abstract Background: The adverse effects of air pollution on respiratory health has been documented in high-income countries, but data are scarce from low-income countries. We reported on air quality in Ouagadougou and its effects on hospital visits for respiratory diseases among children.Methods: It was a retrospective hospital-based ecological study. All children admitted from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 at two major teaching hospitals in Burkina Faso were included. We conducted a binary logistic regression to determine the health effects of PM2.5 and PM10 on hospital visits for respiratory diseases, with adjustment for covariates (weather, sociodemographic factors and medical history). Results: Hospital visits for respiratory diseases accounted for 14.16% of all visits. Children were males in the majority (54.57%) and aged between 29 days-30 months (74.85%). PM10 was at WHO recommended levels, ranging from 0.06 μg/m³ to 18.33 μg/m³. PM2.5 concentration ranged from 0.41 to 258.82 μg/m³, above the WHO standards. Rise in PM2.5 concentration was associated with slightly more outpatients than inpatients (ORc=0.996 95% CI: 0.993-0.998; p=0.003). The weather confounded this relationship, but the sociodemographic factors and medical history did not. The increase in PM10 was not significantly associated with hospital visits for respiratory diseases (ORc=0.997 95% CI: 0.977-1.018; p=0.802). Adjusting the PM effects for all covariates, higher PM2.5 and relative humidity levels and the female sex were associated with more outpatient cases than inpatients. Underlying conditions (severe acute malnutrition, sickle cell disease and heart disease) favoured more inpatients than outpatients. Conclusion: At harmful levels in Ouagadougou, PM2.5 caused primarily outpatient hospital visits rather than hospitalisations for respiratory diseases.