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Air Pollution and Daily Emergency
Department Visits for Headache in Montreal, Canada
Mieczyslaw Szyszkowicz, PhD.
Posted: June 2008  
Headache  2008;48:417-423

Background:   Many studies have indicated that weather can trigger headache. Here we propose a new methodological approach to assess the relationship between weather, ambient air pollution, and emergency department (ED) visits for this condition.

Objective:   To examine the associations between ED visits for headache and selected meteorological and air pollution factors.

Design:   A study of 10,497 ED visits for headache that occurred at a Montreal hospital between 1997 and 2002.

Results:   Statistically significant positive associations were observed between the number of ED visits for headache and the atmospheric pressure for all and for female visits for 1-day and 2-day lagged exposures.

Conclusions:   Presented findings provide support for the hypothesis that ED visits for headache are correlated to weather conditions and ambient air pollution. An increase in levels of these factors is associated with an increase in the number of ED visits for headache.