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Short-term effect of dust storms on the risk of mortality due to respiratory, cardiovascular and all-causes in Kuwait

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of dust storms on short-term mortality in Kuwait. We analyzed respiratory and cardiovascular mortality as well as all-cause mortality in relation to dust storm events over a 5-year study period, using data obtained through a population-based retrospective ecological time series study. Dust storm days were identified when the national daily average of PM10 exceeded 200 μg/m3. Generalized additive models with Poisson link were used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of age-stratified daily mortality associated with dust events, after adjusting for potential confounders including weather variables and long-term trends. There was no significant association between dust storm events and same-day respiratory mortality (RR = 0.96; 95 %CI 0.88–1.04), cardiovascular mortality (RR = 0.98; 95 %CI 0.96–1.012) or all-cause mortality (RR = 0.99; 95 %CI 0.97–1.00). Overall our findings suggest that local dust, that most likely originates from crustal materials, has little impact on short-term respiratory, cardiovascular or all-cause mortality.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by Kuwait University Research Grant MXS001 that was funded by the Environment Public Authority of Kuwait. The authors would also like to acknowledge the technical assistance provided by Dr. Mumtaz Shukkur and Mr. Joseph Edison Gomez.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Box 24923, Safat, 13110, Kuwait

    Abdullah Al-Taiar & Lukman Thalib

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  1. Abdullah Al-Taiar
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  2. Lukman Thalib
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Correspondence to Lukman Thalib.

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Al-Taiar, A., Thalib, L. Short-term effect of dust storms on the risk of mortality due to respiratory, cardiovascular and all-causes in Kuwait. Int J Biometeorol 58, 69–77 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-012-0626-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-012-0626-7

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