ArticleBMC public health2026
Ambient PM2.5 and respiratory tract disorder-related outpatient visits among healthcare workers: an ecological time-series study.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAmbient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with adverse respiratory outcomes, yet evidence among healthcare workers remains limited. This study examined temporal associations between weekly ambient PM2.5 concentrations and respiratory tract disorder (RTD)-related outpatient visits among healthcare workers, an occupationally active urban population potentially affected by ambient air pollution.
methodsAn ecological time-series study was conducted among healthcare workers at a 1,000-bed tertiary-care hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 2018 to April 2019. RTD- and respiratory tract symptom (RTS)-related outpatient visits were identified using ICD-10 codes (J00-J99) from electronic medical records. Weekly average ambient PM2.5 concentrations were obtained from the nearest national monitoring station. Weekly outpatient visit counts were analysed using Poisson or negative binomial regression models and expressed as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) per 10 µg/m³ increase in PM2.5 concentration, adjusted for temporal trends.
resultsAmong 12,458 healthcare workers, short-term increases in weekly ambient PM2.5 concentrations were associated with higher outpatient visit counts for overall RTDs (IRR 1.139, 95% CI 1.059-1.225), common cold (1.164, 1.082-1.252), allergic rhinitis (1.240, 1.126-1.365), sinusitis (1.168, 1.017-1.342), and asthma (1.429, 1.003-2.037). Significant associations were also observed for upper respiratory symptoms including sneezing, sore throat, cough, and shortness of breath.
conclusionsShort-term increases in ambient PM2.5 concentrations were temporally associated with higher respiratory outpatient visits among healthcare workers. These findings extend evidence regarding air pollution and respiratory health to an understudied occupational population and reinforce the public health importance of continued air quality management in urban environments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.