The impact of major atmospheric pollutant emissions on the number of outpatient and emergency visits to dermatology in hospitals across various regions of China:A GWR-based spatial analysis
XU Yuxuan
SHEN Shuqun
LIN Jinxiong
LIU Rui
XIE Jie
HU Youkun
Abstract：Objective To explore the spatial impact characteristics of the major pollutant e-missions in the atmosphere on the number of outpatient and emergency visits to dermatology depart-ments in hospitals across the country,providing a reference for monitoring skin health risks and developing intervention strategies.Methods Data on dermatology outpatient and emergency visits and emissions of major air pollutants(sulfur dioxide,nitrogen oxides,and particulate matter)were collected from 31 provinces(including autonomous regions and municipalities)in China in 2022.A Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR)model was employed to analyze the spatial impact differences in pollutant emissions on the number of outpatient and emergency visits to der-matology,as well as spatial autocorrelation.Results In 2022,the total number of dermatology outpatient and emergency visits in China reached 106 million,accounting for 2.84％of the total outpatient and emergency visits in the country.The global Moran's I index analysis indicated a positive spatial correlation between dermatology outpatient and emergency visits(Moran's I=0.17,P=0.043).The GWR model revealed that sulfur dioxide emission generally had a negative effect on dermatology visits,with the strongest impact observed in the northeastern region.Nitro-gen oxide emission had a generally positive impact,with the effects being most significant in the northeastern and central regions,whereas particulate matter emission had a positive impact in the eastern region but a negative impact in the western region.Conclusions There is evident spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of dermatology outpatient and emergency visits across China,and the impact of various pollutant emissions on the number of visits varies by region.Tailored inter-vention strategies and optimized resource allocation should be implemented based on regional pol-lution characteristics and healthcare infrastructure to promote the coordinated development of pollu-tion control and skin health management.
Keywords：dermatologyoutpatient and emergency visitsair pollutantsgeographically weighted regression modelspatial analysis
Publication Date：2025-10-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-20(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 722-730 )