Air pollution and health effects - a study of respiratory illness among children in Santiago, Chile

The authors estimate dose-response functions for respiratory disease among children based on data from public clinics in Santiago. They find that respiratory disease among Santiago s children is significantly affected by air pollution, measured as PM10 (small dust particles). The effect, for children under 15 (and subgroups), is robust to the inclusion of a wide range of covariates and alternative specifications. In some model specifications, ozone, another measure of pollution, is also found to affect respiratory illness. Internationally, effects on morbidity have typically been found in cross-section studies, or in prospective studies following a panel of predisposed children, such as asthmatics. This study is important in finding such an effect for a larger population of children with more general characteristics - hence more useful for cost-benefit analyses of air pollution control. The study, and a companion study of premature mortality, add to much-needed evidence on the benefits of pollution control in developing countries. The results fit well in a growing literature on dose-response functions for health effects, and so added support to a method of transferring dose-response functions when local research is not available. An earlier study using this method found that modestly estimated health benefits exceeded pollution control costs in Santiago by more than 50 percent.