Associations between Average ozone, PM2.5 levels and Asthma among Medicare Beneficiaries in the State of Georgia

Background:The most at-risk populations for respiratory diseases due to air pollution are children, pregnant women, immune compromised, and anyone over the age of 65 including Medicare beneficiaries. Findings have seen that both ozone and PM2.5 are among the main air pollutants related to this adverse health effect. The objective of this study was to follow the Medicare beneficiary population in the state of Georgia, USA who are over the age of 65 concerning their asthma in relation to air pollutants. The main purpose was to determine the association between ozone,PM2.5 levels and the prevalence of asthma in elderly people in Georgia.

Methods:This study used data from Georgia Rural Health Hub with data from 2010-2019. The total number of counties analyzed in Georgia was 159. Descriptive statistics and linear regression method were utilized to examine the associations between percentage of beneficiaries diagnosed with Asthma as a dependent variable; average ambient ozone concentration (ppm) and average P.M2.5 concentration (µg/m3) as the independent variables, while controlling for confounders such as smoking and age.

Results:The results show a significant association between the percentage of beneficiaries diagnosed with asthma and average daily ambient particulate matter (P.M 2.5) P.05. For every unit increase in percentage population aged 65+ years, there was a 0.1 percent decrease in Medicare beneficiaries with asthma.

Conclusion:The study findings conclude that asthma in elderly people is likely to be less influenced by air pollutants such as PM2.5 and ozone. The possible reasons could be less exposures of elderly people to ambient air pollutants and their more confined stay in indoor environments.