The Novel Relationship between Urban Air Pollution and Epilepsy: A Time Series Study

Background and purposeThe data concerning the association between environmental pollution and epilepsy attacks are limited. The aim of this study was to explore the association between acute air pollution exposure and epilepsy attack.MethodsA hospital record-based study was carried out in Xi’an, a heavily-polluted metropolis in China. Daily baseline data were obtained. Time-series Poisson regression models were applied to analyze the association between air pollution and epilepsy.ResultsA 10 μg/m3 increase of NO2, SO2, and O3 concentrations corresponded to 3.17% (95%Cl: 1.41%, 4.93%), 3.55% (95%Cl: 1.93%, 5.18%), and -0.84% (95%Cl: -1.58%, 0.09%) increase in outpatient-visits for epilepsy on the concurrent days, which were significantly influenced by sex and age. The effects of NO2 and SO2 would be stronger when adjusted for PM2.5. As for O3, a -1.14% (95%Cl: -1.90%, -0.39%) decrease was evidenced when adjusted for NO2. The lag models showed that the most significant effects were evidenced on concurrent days.ConclusionsWe discovered previously undocumented relationships between short-term air pollution exposure and epilepsy: while NO2 and SO2 were positively associated with outpatient-visits of epilepsy, O3 might be associated with reduced risk.

研究背景与目的
目前关于环境污染与癫痫发作之间关联的研究数据较为匮乏。本研究旨在探讨短期急性空气污染暴露与癫痫发作之间的关联。

研究方法
本研究基于医院病历资料，在中国重污染大都市西安开展。研究收集了每日基线数据，采用时间序列泊松回归（Time-series Poisson regression）模型分析空气污染与癫痫之间的关联。

研究结果
当日二氧化氮（NO₂）、二氧化硫（SO₂）、臭氧（O₃）浓度每升高10 μg/m³，癫痫门诊就诊量分别升高3.17%（95%置信区间：1.41%，4.93%）、3.55%（95%置信区间：1.93%，5.18%）与-0.84%（95%置信区间：-1.58%，0.09%），且该关联受性别与年龄的显著影响。在调整细颗粒物（PM2.5）的影响后，二氧化氮与二氧化硫的效应会更强；而在调整二氧化氮的影响后，臭氧则表现为就诊量降低1.14%（95%置信区间：-1.90%，-0.39%）。滞后模型分析显示，空气污染对癫痫就诊的最显著效应出现在当日。

研究结论
本研究发现了此前未被报道的短期空气污染暴露与癫痫之间的关联：二氧化氮、二氧化硫与癫痫门诊就诊量呈正相关，而臭氧或可降低癫痫发作的就诊风险。