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Short-term effect of PM2.5 exposure on pediatric neurological outpatient visits in Shijiazhuang China 2013–2021
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  • Published: 28 January 2026

Short-term effect of PM2.5 exposure on pediatric neurological outpatient visits in Shijiazhuang China 2013–2021

  • Ziyue Liang1 na1,
  • Aifang Gao2 na1,
  • Hui Kang1,
  • Fengge Chen1,
  • Hui Ma1,
  • Xiaoman Zhu1,
  • Xiaoxin Song3,
  • Xi You2,
  • Yu Song1 &
  • …
  • Ying Zhang1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Diseases
  • Environmental sciences
  • Health care
  • Medical research
  • Neurology
  • Risk factors

Abstract

In this study, outpatient data of pediatric neurological diseases together with air pollutants data and meteorological factors were collected in SJZ from 2013 to 2021 to study the correlation between exposure to PM2.5 and pediatric neurological diseases. A Poisson regression GLM was employed to assess the risk associated with both a single time lag and a moving average time lag of 0–7 days. The Poisson regression GLM was evaluated with respect to sex, age, seasons, and disease types. For per IQR (75.2 µg/m3) increase in PM2.5 concentration over a 7-day period (lag07) was correlated with a 2.047% increase in the overall count of pediatric outpatient visits for nervous system-related issues. As PM2.5 concentration increased, its impact was more obvious among girls or children aged < 6 years. Moreover, the adverse effects on nervous systems of children were more pronounced during the warm season (ER: 4.875%). A preliminary exposure assessment revealed a significant correlation between PM2.5 and both the overall outpatient visits for pediatric neurological diseases and the number of various outpatient visits for neurological disorders in children. Additionally, girls < 6 years old were identified as a group particularly sensitive to PM2.5 exposure.

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Data availability

Ambient air quality data during the study period (PM2.5 , PM10 , O3 , CO, SO2 , NO2 ) were obtained from the China National Urban Air Quality Real-time Publishing Platform (https://air.cnemc.cn:18007/). The meteorological data (e.g., daily average temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, sunshine duration, and wind speed) during the study period were obtained from the National Meteorological Science Data Center (http://data.cma.cn/). The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

SJZ:

Shijiazhuang

GLM:

Generalized linear model

NSDs:

Nervous system diseases

CNS:

Central nervous system

BBB:

Blood–brain barrier

SO2 :

Sulfur dioxide

NO2 :

Nitrogen dioxide

O3 :

Ozone

GLM:

Generalized linear model

ER:

Excess risk

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CI:

Confidence interval

IQR:

Interquartile range

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Acknowledgements

We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com.cn) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by Medical Science Research Project of Hebei (No. 20250203).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Ziyue Liang and Aifang Gao.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shijiazhuang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hebei Key Laboratory of Intractable Pathogens, Environment and Health Research Base of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Shijiazhuang), Shijiazhuang, 050011, China

    Ziyue Liang, Hui Kang, Fengge Chen, Hui Ma, Xiaoman Zhu, Yu Song & Ying Zhang

  2. School of Water Resources and Environment, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang, 050031, China

    Aifang Gao & Xi You

  3. Hebei Provincial Ecological Environment Digital Intelligence Center, Shijiazhuang, 050051, China

    Xiaoxin Song

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Contributions

Z. L. and A. G. conducted relevant research and wrote the paper, Y. Z. was responsible for determining the research direction, conducting academic review and revision of the manuscript, and provided guidance on experimental design and data analysis methods. H. K., F. C., H. M., X. Z., X. S., X. Y., Y. S. assisted in conducting research and revised the paper together.

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Correspondence to Ying Zhang.

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Liang, Z., Gao, A., Kang, H. et al. Short-term effect of PM2.5 exposure on pediatric neurological outpatient visits in Shijiazhuang China 2013–2021. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36877-5

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  • Received: 31 July 2025

  • Accepted: 16 January 2026

  • Published: 28 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36877-5

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Keywords

  • PM2.5 exposure
  • Pediatric neurological outpatient visits
  • Time series analysis
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