North Idaho clean-air study a first

Although far from the traffic-clogged streets of New York or the smog of Los Angeles, North Idaho residents have a reason to carpool.

Rising air pollution leads to more medical visits, according to a new study from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Researchers there collected data over two years from insurance companies in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Fall, Rathdrum

and Sandpoint areas.

“It’s significant in that while there are hundreds of studies showing this link, this is the first one specifically based in North Idaho,” said Jim Vannoy, lead author on the study and program manager of the Idaho Health Division’s Environmental Health Education and Assessment Program. “There are times when pollution up there is causing adverse health effects, and we all care about health, so we should be concerned.”

Whereas previous studies have examined death certificates and hospital admissions to show how air pollution affects health, researchers in this study collected data from a wider range of health care facilities, including clinics and private-practice physicians – a process that made the study more reliable, Vannoy said. They found that higher levels of air pollution resulted in more doctor visits for acute strokes; heart problems; lower respiratory diseases, like pneumonia and bronchitis; and upper respiratory ailments concerns, such as sinus infections and laryngitis.

The threat of increased air pollution caused by a growing population poses more of a concern than current air quality, said Dan Redline, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s Coeur d’Alene air quality control manager.

“This shows locally what has been demonstrated nationally,” said Red- line, whose agency collected data for the study. “As air pollution increases, it does create a health care concern.”

The study came about when the Idaho health department received a grant three years ago from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the impact on health of field burning on the Rathdrum Prairie. Researchers soon discovered that not enough field burning days existed in the two-year span to provide reliable data.

Instead, they expanded the study to include all possible types of air pollution and collected data from Idaho’s Blue Cross, Medicaid and Regence Blue Shield insurance programs from October 2002 through December 2004.

“I don’t think anything is surprising about it,” said Vannoy, who considers the study more reinforcing than revealing. “It’s important for people to understand that when the air quality is bad, they should limit time and exercise outdoors, especially if they have cardiac problems.”

The Idaho Division of Health also recommends carpooling or using public transit to get to work; composting or recycling brush and vegetation instead of burning it; and walking or riding a bicycle whenever possible.