The impact of converting a power plant from coal to natural gas on pediatric acute asthma

Abstract

Background and objectives: Air pollutants play a pivotal role in the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms. As cleaner air initiatives are increasingly being implemented, it is important to appraise how these changes relate to acute pediatric asthma. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a Gas and Electric Company's transition from using coal to natural gas as their fuel source on pediatric asthma-related illnesses in Louisville, KY.

Methods: Data were collected for children 2-17 years old from a large regional healthcare system, for which an asthma-related primary diagnosis was present between April 1, 2013 and April 1, 2018. Using an interrupted time series design, we analyzed monthly rates of asthma-related visits to urgent care (UC) and emergency departments (ED). Segmented Poisson regression models were used to assess whether the power company's transition was associated with changes in trends of asthma-related visits.

Results: There were a total of 7,735 subjects who met inclusion criteria. Prior to the complete factory transition from coal to natural gas, the mean monthly rate for asthma-related visits was 163.9. After the transition, we observed a significant decrease to a mean monthly rate of 100.3 asthma-related visits (p < 0.001). In addition, the proportion of inpatient (23.7% vs. 30.5%, p < 0.001) visits significantly increased, while ED & UC (76.3 vs. 69.5%, p < 0.001) were significantly decreased.

Conclusion: Converting an electrical power plant from coal to natural gas lead to a profound and sustained decrease in pediatric acute asthma exacerbation in Louisville, KY.

Keywords: Epidemiology; environmental factor; pediatrics.