Air pollution in Reykjavík and dispensation of drugs for angina pectoris

TLDR: Increased air pollution levels are associated with increased dispensation of glyceril trinitrate, indicating that drug dispensing may potentially be a sensitive indicator of health when estimating the effects of air pollution.

Abstract: Introduction: Ambient air pollution is associated with increase in morbidity from heart diseases. Air pollutant concentrations in the Reykjavik area are known to exceed official European health limits several times every year. Objectives: To evaluate the association between ambient air concentration of NO 2 , O 3 , PM 10 , and H 2 S in Iceland9s capital area Reykjavik and the dispensation of drugs for angina pectoris. Methods: Data on the daily dispensing of drugs for angina pectoris were obtained from The Icelandic Medicine Registry. Data on hourly concentrations of NO 2 , O 3 , PM 10 , and H 2 S were obtained from The City of Reykjavik, and The Environment Agency of Iceland. A case-crossover design was used and the study period was January 1st 2005 to December 31st 2009. Results: Exposure to air pollution was associated with the dispensing of drugs for cardiovascular disease (C01DA). For every 10 μg/m 3 increase of NO 2 concentration levels the dispensing of glyceril trinitrates (sub-group C01DA02) increased by 11.6% (at lag 0) and 7.1% (at lag 1). Similarly, an increae by 10 μg/m 3 of O 3 concentration was associated with 9.0% (at lag 0) and 7.2% (at lag 1) increase in glyceril trinitrate dispensations. Conclusion: The findings indicate that increased air pollution levels are associated with increased dispensation of glyceril trinitrate. We caution that this is the first study to examine the association between ambient air pollution and dispensation of drugs for angina pectoris, hence further evidence is needed for definite conclusions of this association. Drug dispensing may potentially be a sensitive indicator of health when estimating the effects of air pollution.