Emergency hospital admissions fell after introduction of London’s T-charge and Ulez, study suggests | Air pollution
Low emissions and clean air zones are controversial when proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work to improve air quality. The Bradford district was followed by a decrease of around 2%. 25% visits to the general practitioner due to heart and respiratory problems and survey data It shows a decrease in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave, following the central London area.
Now analysis of health records found that emergency admissions to hospital decreased after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra low emission zone (Ulez) in central London.
Both plans are designed to reduce the air pollution breathed by Londoners. From 2017 the T charge was an additional congestion charge for older and more polluting vehicles. During the T-charge, many of the vehicles used in central London were upgraded in preparation for the rollout of the wider central London Ulez in 2019.
Dr. Rosemary Chamberlain research “Given what we know about the link between air pollution and health, we wanted to understand whether the introduction of T-charge and Ulez had also led to a reduction in people being admitted to hospital,” he said, from Imperial College London.
The researchers examined emergency admissions to the hospital, excluding conditions such as accidents, burns, drug overdoses, poisoning or self-harm. Before the programs launched for people living in central London, admissions were increasing by 3% a year. After launch, there was a 3% annual reduction in emergency admissions; including an 8% reduction in heart problems and a 6% reduction in respiratory problems.
The researchers then investigated whether the changes were caused by other factors.
Chamberlain said: “We needed to make sure we could separate the impact of the plans from other trends, such as changes in healthcare-seeking behaviour, overall trends in hospital admissions and other policies that improve air pollution. We did this by looking at other parts of the country, similar to the central Ulez region.”
The reduction in total emergency visits and the reduction in heart problems remained strong compared to other areas. There was still a downward shift in the data for respiratory problems, but this did not reach statistical significance.
Chamberlain said: “The inconclusive finding on respiratory outcomes may be partly due to the fact that our analysis only considered adults. Children are particularly sensitive to the effects of air pollution on respiratory health, so analysis of respiratory outcomes in childhood may show a more definitive result.”
Ulez in central London opened just a year before the Covid pandemic. Despite the decrease in nitrogen dioxide from traffic by about 44% On roads in central London before lockdowns began, researchers did not have enough health data to distinguish between the effects of Ulez and lockdown.
Doctor Daniela FechtDr. who directed the study. He said: “We controlled for other factors and trends in our study design so we can conclude that reductions in hospital admissions are directly linked to emissions reduction initiatives in central London.
“Other factors, such as more walking and cycling or reduced traffic noise, may also contribute, but we are fairly confident that these improvements in health are due to reductions in air pollution. Our results provide clear evidence that clean air zones and low-emission zones can benefit public health.”
