Season, sex and age as modifiers in the association of psychosis morbidity with air pollutants: A rising problem in a Chinese metropolis

Until now, epidemiological studies on the association between psychosis morbidity and air pollutants are scarce, especially in a developing country. Thus, a time-series analysis on the short-term association between the daily disease (psychosis and non-accidental) morbidity and air pollutants including particulate matter (PM) with diameters of 10 μm or less (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was firstly conducted. The association between daily psychosis morbidity stratified by sex and age, and outdoor air pollutants in Tianjin as an important metropolis in China was examined. The psychosis effect from air pollutants in the warm season (April-September) and the cool season (October-March) was also analyzed, respectively. An increase of 10 μg/m(3) in a 2-day average concentration of PM10, SO2, and NO2 corresponded to an increase in all non-accidental morbidity of 0.15%, 0.49%, and 0.57%, respectively. The association between non-accidental morbidity and SO2 in the cool season was significantly different from that in the warm season. These findings might have implications and references for local governments to make policies for air pollution control and management, and public health prevention.