Air pollution by carbon monoxide can be possibly related to the increase in arterial blood pressure and the risk of arterial hypertension. The study was made in Kaunas. The concentration of daily carbon monoxide was estimated according to the data provided by the Department of Environment of Kaunas and environmental monitoring stations of Kaunas city municipality. The study aims to determine a short-term impact of air pollution by carbon monoxide on the number of calls for ambulance due to the risk of arterial hypertension. The following factors were taken into consideration during the study: the time of calling for ambulance, seasons, weekdays and air temperature. Almost half of calls for ambulance (45.1%) due to the increase in arterial blood pressure were recorded in the afternoon (from 0 to 15 calls a day). The number of calls for ambulance due to the increase in arterial blood pressure was the lowest in the warmest time of the year (summer) regardless of the time of the day, and the highest in winter (in the afternoon and evening). The number of calls for ambulance at night due to the increase in arterial blood pressure was significantly higher on Mondays and Tuesdays. The number of calls for ambulance was 14% lower in the afternoon when the air temperature was 10 oC and 13% lower in the evening and at night. The number of calls for ambulance due to the increase in arterial blood pressure can be related to increased concentration of carbon monoxide one day before the call for ambulance (as a result of increased concentration of carbon monoxide by 1 mg/m3, the risk increases by 1.24 times). Increased concentration of carbon monoxide did not have negative influence on the number of calls for ambulance. Negative effect of carbon monoxide was observed when daily carbon concentration exceeded 80th percentile (0.583 mg/m3).

Article in: Lithuanian

Article published: 2015-09-29