Development of a Conjunctivitis Outpatient Rate Prediction Model Incorporating Ambient Ozone and Meteorological Factors in South Korea

• Published in: Frontiers in pharmacology Vol. 9; p. 1135
• Main Authors: Seo, Jeong-Won, Youn, Jong-Sang, Park, SeJoon, Joo, Choun-Ki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 09-10-2018
• Subjects: conjunctivitis; meteorology; multi-level; ozone; Pharmacology; prediction model; multi-level; prediction model; conjunctivitis; meteorology; ozone
• ISSN: 1663-9812; 1663-9812
• DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01135

Ozone (O
) is a commonly known air pollutant that causes adverse health effects. This study developed a multi-level prediction model for conjunctivitis in outpatients due to exposure to O
by using 3 years of ambient O
data, meteorological data, and hospital data in Seoul, South Korea. We confirmed that the rate of conjunctivitis in outpatients (conjunctivitis outpatient rate) was highly correlated with O
(
= 0.49), temperature (
= 0.72), and relative humidity (
= 0.29). A multi-level regression model for the conjunctivitis outpatient rate was well-developed, on the basis of sex and age, by adding statistical factors. This model will contribute to the prediction of conjunctivitis outpatient rate for each sex and age, using O
and meteorological data.