This study was conducted to quantify, by an approach proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the daily hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) related to exposure to particulate matter (PM10) and oxidants such as ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in a heavily polluted city in Iran. For the health impact assessment, in terms of COPD, the current published relative risk (RR) and baseline incidence (BI) values, suggested by the WHO, and the 1-h O3 concentrations and daily PM10, NO2, and SO2 concentrations were compiled. The results showed that 5.9, 4.1, 1.2, and 1.9% of the COPD daily hospitalizations in 2011 and 6.6, 1.9, 2.3, and 2.1% in 2012 were attributed to PM10, O3, SO2, and NO2 concentrations exceeding 10 μg/m3, respectively. This study indicates that air quality and the high air pollutant levels have an effect on COPD morbidity. Air pollution is associated with visits to emergency services and hospital admissions. A lower relative risk can be achieved if some stringent control strategies for reducing air pollutants or emission precursors are implemented. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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