ASSOCIATION OF ASTHMA WITH CARBON MONOXIDE CONCENTRATIONS ON THE ROADS OF KARACHI AND POTENTIAL BLOOD LEVEL OF CARBOXY HAEMOGLOBIN

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations on roadways of Karachi, potential blood levels carboxy hemoglobin (COHb) in Karachiites and evaluate its association with asthma prevalence in Landhi and Korangi towns of Karachi city. Geographical information system (GIS) was used for spatial analysis of diseases potentiality while an interpolation technique has been applied for surface generation with town boundaries and later evaluates risk areas. The results depicted that the Union Councils wise estimated carboxy hemoglobin (COHb) levels with mean and maximum values were found in the range of 1.24% to 1.86% and 1.35% to 3.06% respectively. This study shows that the asthma prevalence and carbon monoxide values are strongly correlated, indicating higher the CO levels with higher the Asthma prevalence. The higher concentration of carbon monoxide in the ambient is mainly due to automobile exhaust and industrial emissions, resulting in an increase in asthma, other respiratory and heart related diseases.