The Department would like to congratulate Dr Nur Nabila Abd Rahim on successfully completing her Doctor of Public Health Viva Voce. The title of her thesis is “Association of Air Pollution on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Hospitalisations in Peninsular Malaysia: A Time Series Multi-District Analysis”. She was supervised by Professor Dr. Rafdzah Ahmad Zaki and Dr. ‘Abqariyah Yahya. The examiner for the thesis was Professor Dr. Kayo Ueda from Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University and Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal. The viva voce Session was chaired by Professor Dr. Tunku Kamarul Zaman Tunku Zainol Abidin and attended by Professor Dr. Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman as the Deputy Dean (Postgraduate) and Prof Dr Victor Hoe as the Head of Department.
She has published two papers and one more has been submitted and it is under review.
- Nur Nabila Abd Rahim, Abqariyah Yahya and Wan Rozita Wan Mahiyuddin. Association Between Particulate Matter (PM 10) Exposure and Cardiorespiratory Hospital Admissions: A Time Series Analysis. American Journal of Environmental Sciences 17(2):23-30. February 202117(2):23-30.
- N.N. Abd Rahim. R. Ahmad Zaki b*, A. Yahya, W.R. Wan Mahiyuddin. Acute effects of air pollution on cardiovascular hospital admissions in the port district of Klang, Malaysia: A time-series analysis. Atmospheric Environment 333 (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120629
Summary of the Thesis
The thesis explores the intricate relationship between air pollution and hospitalisations due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Recognizing the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases and their significant contribution to hospitalisations globally and locally, this study aims to develop accurate models for predicting hospitalisations based on air pollution data.
Conducted as a retrospective time series analysis, the research spans from January 2011 to December 2019, utilizing Quasi-Poisson generalized linear models to assess the association between various air pollutants, including SO2, NO2, O3, CO, PM10, and PM2.5, and hospitalisation rates. An autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous input (ARIMAX) model was developed to predict future hospitalisations.
The findings reveal daily fluctuations in hospitalisations and highlight substantial heterogeneity in relative risks across different districts, pollutants, and lag times. The results underscore significant short-lag effects of SO2 on cardiovascular issues and varied impacts of other pollutants like NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, and CO. Notably, industrial districts such as Klang and Johor Bahru exhibited heightened risks for specific pollutants.
This study contributes to the existing literature by emphasizing the varied relationship between air pollution and hospitalisations across different regions, advocating for the development of more localized and multipollutant models. The research highlights the importance of incorporating additional confounding variables to enhance the understanding of air pollution’s health impacts, thereby informing better public health strategies and policies in Malaysia.
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