Evaluation of the Influence of Air Pollution on Hospitalizations for 
Respiratory Diseases in Divinópolis, Brazil

Tiago de Morais Faria Novais, Mauro César Cardoso Cruz, Mônica de Abreu Azevedo, 

Elizamara Marçal Pelegrino, and Emanuel Gomes Cândido Coelho

State University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract: With the increasing urbanization and industrialization of developing countries, there is an imminent need for pollution control in its various sources. The present study aims to evaluate the interference of air pollution in the number of hospitalizations due to respiratory problems in the city of Divinópolis, Minas Gerais. This municipality is located in southeastern Brazil, with about 230 thousand inhabitants, of which 97.42% live in the urban area, according to IBGE data. Secondary data on the concentration of suspended particulate matter (monitored in five Hi-Vol volume devices, maintained by the municipal public power and distributed in the urban area), were used in this study, climatologic data such as humidity, temperature and wind speed (from the municipal airport station) and hospital admissions (obtained from the DATASUS system, electronic website of the Unified Health System). Hospital admission data were categorized into the following categories: total admissions, for asthma and bronchitis. All data obtained, with monthly frequency, were included between January 2000 and December 2014, totaling 180 months of evaluation. The data were submitted to statistical analysis of Pearson correlation, using SPSS software 20 (Statistical Package for Social Studies). The correlation between hospitalizations and particulate matter was moderate (0.353) as well as between admissions and temperature and humidity (0.329). At the end of this research, we intend to obtain the relation between these several parameters through the Generalized Linear Model, integrating all the variables that obtain the moderate or high Pearson correlation.