Effects of dust events on primary hospital admissions in Amarillo, Texas, USA

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Abstract
We conducted a population-level study to investigate the association between human health and windblown dust in Amarillo, Texas, USA, from 2010 to 2014. We examined whether short-term Dust Exposures (DE) were associated with significant increases in hospitalizations on the day of exposure and for up to seven days afterward, and whether these effects varied by sex, age group, and season. Two DE approaches were analyzed (associated with weather observations, maximum wind speed, visibility, and maximum daily PM 2.5 ) and yielded similar results. Distributed lag nonlinear models in time-series analysis characterized nonlinear relationships between health outcomes and the delayed effects of DE. Diagnoses (both individual and aggregated) with significant associations with DE, ranked from highest to lowest relative risk, included conditions in the perinatal period, neurodegenerative diseases, progression of lung disease, excessive or frequent menstruation, urinary tract infections, blood-forming diseases, nervous system diseases, pneumonia and influenza, respiratory system diseases, septicemia, skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases, birth complications, infectious and parasitic diseases, circulatory system diseases, mental disorders, Associated Diseases, and all ICD-9 categories. The diagnoses of neurodegenerative, respiratory, and associated diseases were also significantly associated with DE in our earlier studies in Lubbock and El Paso counties. Each city had a distinct set of diagnostic associations with DE, possibly due to differences in dust composition and sources, meteorology, population characteristics, and healthcare access. Therefore, exposure to dust events can exacerbate several diagnoses, aggravate inflammation, and lead to infections, highlighting the importance of informing the public about reducing DE and adopting wind-erosion control practices.

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