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ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6573-3748

Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

thesis

Degree Program

Public Health

Degree Type

Master of Science (M.S.)

Year Degree Awarded

2022

Month Degree Awarded

May

Abstract

Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic bronchitis have significantly increased in prevalence in Africa over the past 10 years. Recent studies have demonstrated that exposure to air pollution may be associated with an increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases. However, such studies have predominantly been conducted in western societies or often used urbanicity as a proxy for exposure to air pollution. Therefore, we evaluated the association between PM2.5 exposure and asthma/chronic bronchitis in Senegal. A cross-sectional study was conducted for the time period of 3 October 2010 to 28 April 2011 using annual concentrations of PM2.5 measured via multiple satellite instruments, and asthma/chronic bronchitis, which was self-reported at baseline via a health survey questionnaire. We used mixed model logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and asthma/chronic bronchitis risk while adjusting for lifestyle factors, location, and other air pollutants. Sex was evaluated as an effect modifier. The adjusted association between PM2.5 and asthma/chronic bronchitis was 1.03 (95%CI: 0.99 – 1.06). In males the adjusted odds ratio was 1.09 (95%CI: 1.03-1.15), compared to females (aOR 1.01 (95%CI: 0.97 – 1.05). Our results suggest that increasing levels of exposure to PM2.5 puts individuals at a higher risk for chronic respiratory diseases, especially men. These findings have significant policy implications and should be built upon in future research.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/28640138

First Advisor

Youssef Oulhote

Second Advisor

Peter Larson

Third Advisor

Lisa Chasan-Taber

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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