Objectives To investigate the relation between particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 μm (PM₁₀) and emergency hospital visits (EHVs) for stroke in Changsha, China.

Methods The daily EHVs for cerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction were gathered from the third Xiangya hospital during 2008-2009. The corresponding air pollutions and meteorological data were collected from the environmental protection agency and the weather bureau. The seasonal-stratified case-crossover design with 1:1 matched pair was used to set up single-pollution models and multi-pollution models for the data analysis.

Results Adjusting the temperature and relative humidity in single-pollution models, an 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ were significantly association with EHVs of cerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction at lags of 0 day [OR = 0.953 (95%CI: 0.871-1.042) and OR = 0.970 (95%:0.910-1.034), respectively], 1day [OR = 0.984 (95%CI: 0.913-1.061) and OR = 0.965 (95%: 0.902-1.031), respectively] and 2 day [OR = 0.996 (95%CI: 0.928-1.069) and OR = 0.964 (95%: 0.904-1.029), respectively] in autumn. But there was no significantly association between PM₁₀ and EHVs for cerebral haemorrhage and cerebral infarction in any other season.

Conclusions The concentration of PM₁₀ was associated with increased EHVs for cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction in Changsha.