The relationship between environmental air pollution, meteorological factors, and emergency service admissions for epileptic attacks in children.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between exposure to acute air pollution and meteorological factors on the frequency of epileptic attacks in children.

Methods: This retrospective study was carried using patient files from a children's hospital in Diyarbakır, one of the largest cities in Turkey. In the present study, the possible relationship between epileptic attacks seen in children over a 10-year period, two air polluting factors (PM and SO), and the meteorological factors (air pressure, humidity, precipitation, wind speed) affecting them were investigated. The effects of different variables on the number of epilepsy patients admitted to the pediatric emergency department were also evaluated through four different models utilizing Poisson Regression Analysis.

Results: According to Model 2 and 3, the strongest relationship of the four Poisson Regression models, there was a significantly increased risk of pediatric emergency department admissions for seizures associated with a 10 µm/m increase in PM (IRR=1.020; 95% CI: 1.018-1.022); IRR= 1.071; 95% CI: 1.050-1.081; respectively) and 10 µm/m increase in SO (IRR=1.162; 95%CI: 1.151-1.173; IRR=1.092; 95% CI: 1.042-1.120; respectively). In Model 2, a 1 m/s increase in wind speed decrease the risk of daily of epileptic attack admitted to the emergency department and a 1 °C increase in temperature increased the risk of daily of epileptic attack admitted to the emergency department (IRR=0.840; 95% CI; 0.714-0.987; IRR=1.033; 95%CI: 1.007-1.059; respectively). In Model 3, 1% increase in humidity and 1 m/s increase in wind speed increased the number of daily epileptic attack admitted to the emergency department (IRR=1.008; 95%CI: 1.004-1.011; IRR=1.169; 95%CI: 1.056-1.294; respectively). The daily number of epilepsy patients was statistically significantly affected by the autumn (95%CI: 10.017-19.845) and winter (95%CI: -0.279 to 13.292) seasons.

Conclusion: Meteorological factors and air pollutants affect the number of pediatric patients admitted to the pediatric emergency department with epilepsy attacks.