Evaluating the impact of coal-fired thermal power plants on morbidity in Yatağan, Türkiye

Coal-fired thermal power plants contribute to air pollution to a great extent globally. Muğla-Yatağan is particularly affected by three of these plants. Despite local's reports of common cancer and lung diseases, comprehensive studies on public health effects are lacking. We aimed to reveal these plant emissions' impact on chronic disease development, emphasizing the need for precautions. Based on previous modeling data, this ecological study identifies Bodrum as the least affected by emissions. Due to unavailable state data, we accessed records from state hospitals between 2015-2019, with disease diagnoses compared between centers, adjusting for age, sex, year, and hospital admission rates.45,591 records were obtained, showing a similar sex distribution. The median age was higher in Bodrum(61 vs 57). In Yatağan, asthma, COPD arrhythmia, dementia, lung cancer, and diabetes were more frequent in total, especially for 45+ age group(Table 1-2). Also, asthma and diabetes were more common in the 19-44 age groups. It only supports the association of air pollution with these diseases. More comprehensive studies are needed to examine this effect thoroughly. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA2227/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA2227/F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>