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This study is a NILS Distinct Linkage Project (DLP) which will investigate the relationship between outdoor air pollution exposure and individual-level health outcomes in Northern Ireland. Health will be measured by prescriptions dispensed by General Practitioners (GPs) to treat certain health conditions. Prescriptions receipt is an outcome of particular interest in this project since it can be used to analyse health outcomes that are not available in self-reported Census data. Pollution data are available annually between 2001 and 2022 at a 1×1 km grid square resolution, with pollution exposure assigned to each NILS member using anonymized address information.
Prescriptions data are obtained from the Enhanced Prescription Database (EPD). The EPD linkage will include prescriptions used to treat illnesses related to: (1) the cardiovascular system; (2) the respiratory system (3) Parkinson’s disease; (4) diabetes; (5) and dementia. The project will study several groups but will focus on young people, analysing the impact of childhood exposure on respiratory-related prescriptions, as well as older people, analysing links with cardiovascular disease, dementia and Parkinsonism’s disease in later life. It will also investigate links with respiratory-related illness and diabetes.
Although many existing studies have examined the effects of pollution on respiratory- and cardiovascular-related health, relatively few have considered conditions such as diabetes or neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. The linkage of data on prescriptions used to treat these health conditions will allow this project to make a unique contribution to these emerging health literatures.
