Abstract

The city of Los Angeles, located in south-central Chile, has severe air quality problems in the winter months due to the use of firewood for residential heating. The effects of poor air quality on population health were evaluated by linking particulate matter concentrations with medical care for respiratory and circulatory causes between 2013 and 2019. Specifically, generalized linear models (Poisson and negative binomial) were used to relate the concentration of inhalable (PM10) 10 ) and fine (PM2.5) 2.5 ) atmospheric particles to emergency care and hospital admissions, considering the following age groups: under 15 years of age, between 15 and 64, and over 65. The results show that a 100 mu g/m3 3 increase in the daily concentration of PM 2.5 raises emergency care by 3 and 2% in the age groups under 15 and between 15 and 64 years, respectively. On the other hand, the risk of hospitalization rises by 7% for the first age group when the PM10 10 concentration increases by 100 mu g/m3. 3 . However, no significant effects were observed for circulatory conditions.