Background: Many studies have shown that the pollution of fine particles in the air is related to the incidence of chronic diseases. However, research on air pollution and metabolism-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is limited.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between short-term ambient air pollution and daily outpatient visits for metabolic-related fatty liver.
Methods: We used a quasi-Poisson regression generalized additive model to stratify analyses by season, age, and gender.
Results: From January 1, 2017, to August 31, 2019, 10,562 confirmed MAFLD outpatient visits were recorded. A 10 μg/m³ increase of fine particular matter (PM10and PM2.5) and NO₂ concentrations corresponding with percent change were 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49– 1.15), 0.57 (95% CI, 0.18– 0.98), and 0.86 (95% CI, 0.59– 1.13) elevation in MAFLD outpatient visits. In terms of season, the impact estimates of NO₂ and PM2.5% change were 3.55 (95% CI, 1.23– 5.87) and 1.12 (95% CI, 0.78– 1.46) in the hot season and transition season, respectively. Compared with the warm season, the impact estimates of PM10were more significant in the cool season: 2.88 (95% CI, 0.66– 5.10). NO₂ has the greatest effect in the transition season, whereas PM10 has the greatest highest effect in the cool and hot seasons. Compared with other pollutants, PM2.5 has the greatest impact in the age stratification, which percent change are 2.69 (95% CI, 0.77– 5.61) and 2.88 (95% CI, 0.37– 6.40) respectively. The impact values of PM2.5 in male and female percent change were 3.60 (95% CI, 0.63– 6.57) and 1.65 (95% CI, 1.05– 2.25), respectively.
Conclusion: This study shows that the air pollutants are related to the number of outpatient visits for MAFLD. The effects of different air pollutants on MAFLD outpatient visits were different by season, ages, and gender.
Keywords: air pollutants, metabolism-associated fatty liver disease, generalized additive model