Air pollution in Tehran is considered as one of the most important factors threatening human health. High concentrations of pollutants have adverse effects on citizens and the environment. We calculated the relation between COPD and criteria air pollutants in Tehran, one of the most polluted cities in the world during 2005 to 2014.
Hourly data of pollutants include SO2, O3 and NO2 were taken from the Tehran environmental protection agency and Air Quality Control Company. The AirQ2,2,3 model that proposed by the WHO, is used to health impact assessment of pollutants in terms of hospital admission due to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Results indicated that the total cumulative number of cases due to hospital admission due to COPD in Tehran city from 2005 to 2014 for SO2, O3 and NO2 was 1806, 2941 and 2454 cases, respectively. The finding of this study showed that total mean of SO2, O3 and NO2 was higher than the standard concentration. By comparison with guideline and standards, annual concentration for SO2, O3 and NO2 was exceeded on standard level in during the study period.
This study demonstrated that a high percentage of hospital admission due to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease resulting from these pollutants could be due to the high average concentration in the air of Tehran during 2005 to 2014. So, authorities must apply the efforts and necessities actions based on comprehensive scientific researches to control air pollutants and abate their negative effects on human health