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Ambient ozone and bacterium Streptococcus: A link between cellulitis and pharyngitis
 
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1
University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy (Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology)
 
2
Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea (Department of Food and Nutrition)
 
3
Universite du Quebec en Outaouais, Quebec, Canada (Computer Science Department (Professor Emeritus))
 
4
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (School of Public Health, Department of Emergency Medicine)
 
 
Corresponding author
Giuseppe Valacchi   

Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari, 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
 
 
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2015;28(4):771-4
 
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ABSTRACT
Objectives: Ambient air pollution, as many publications indicate, may have associations with skin condition. The aim of this study has been to examine such common relations for cellulitis and pharyngitis. The hypothesis is that ambient ground-level ozone may help bacteria to penetrate skin or throat. Material and Methods: We used the emergency department (ED) visits data in Edmonton, Canada for the period from 1992 (April) to 2002 (March). We retrieved all the diagnosed ED visits for cellulitis and pharyngitis. Case-crossover design was used to study potential association between ozone and those visits. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: The results are reported for the interquartile range (IQR = 17.9 ppb) for 8 h maximum ozone. Positive and statistical significant results were obtained as follows: for lags from 0 to 3 (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03–1.12, lag 2); for lags from 0 to 6 days (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03–1.12, lag 3); for lags from 0 to 4 (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03–1.09, for lag 2 and 3). Conclusions: The findings suggest the response to exposure to ambient ground-level ozone for skin and pharyngitis considered separately and jointly.
eISSN:1896-494X
ISSN:1232-1087
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