Considerations in the grouping of plant and fungal taxa for an epidemiologic study

Hjelmroos-Koski, Mervi; Macher, Janet M.; Hammond, S. Katharine; Tager, Ira B.

doi:10.1080/00173130601005420

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 139 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One strength of this study is that it linked date of birth to specific periods of elevated ambient allergens. We used outdoor measurements of a large number of fungal and plant groups reduced to epidemiologically relevant categories33 and time-resolved to participant data. The number of children with early wheezing in this study was small (n = 35), leading to imprecise estimation of the odds ratios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungi and pollen exposure in the first months of life and risk of early childhood wheezing

Harley

Macher

Lipsett

et al. 2009

Thorax

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND Many studies have found that risk of childhood asthma varies by month of birth, but few have examined ambient aeroallergens as an explanatory factor. OBJECTIVE To examine whether birth during seasons of elevated ambient fungal spore or pollen concentrations is associated with risk of early wheezing or blood levels of Th1- and Th2-type cells at 24 months of age. METHODS 514 children were enrolled before birth and followed to 24 months of age. Early wheezing was determined from medical records and Th1 and Th2-type cells were measured in peripheral blood using flow cytometry. Ambient aeroallergen concentrations were measured throughout the study period and discrete seasons of high spore and pollen concentrations were defined. RESULTS A seasonal pattern was observed, with birth in the fall-winter (the fungal spore season) associated with increased odds of early wheezing (adjusted odds ratio = 3.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.3, 7.4). Increasing mean daily concentrations of basidiospores and ascospores in the first three months of life were associated with increased odds of wheeze, as were increasing mean daily concentrations of total and specific pollen types. Levels of Th1 cells at age 24 months were positively associated with mean fungal spore concentrations and negatively associated with mean pollen concentrations in the first three months of life. CONCLUSIONS Children with higher exposure to fungal spores and pollen in the first three months of life were at increased risk of early wheezing. This association was independent of other seasonal factors, including ambient PM2.5 levels and lower respiratory infections.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungi and pollen exposure in the first months of life and risk of early childhood wheezing

Harley

Macher

Lipsett

et al. 2009

Thorax

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many authors found close associations between the ambient airborne fungi and pollen in relation to respiratory allergies (Adhikari et al, 2004;Caiola et al, 2002;D' Amato et al, 2007;Hasnain et al, 2004;Kasprzyk, 2008;Myszkowska et al, 2002;Nitiu and Mallo, 2011;Smith et al, 2007). Hjelmroos -Koski et al (2006) suggest that taxa pollen and fungal spores should be grouped and used to describe daily exposures for sufferers. Pollen and fungal spores causing allergy are quite variable in different climatic regions which makes it very important to identify respiratory allergies causing species from every region and prepare extracts from them for diagnosis and immunotherapy (Faur et al, 2001;Singh and Kumar, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Airborne Fungal Spore Concentrations in Four Different Microclimate Regions in Romania

Ianovici

Maria

Răduţoiu

et al. 2013

Not Bot Hort Agrobot Cluj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Airborne fungal counts and types were examined in four regions from Romania. The aim of our study was to determine the concentrations of Alternaria, Cladosporium, Drechslera-type, Epicoccum and Nigrospora atmospheric fungal spores in urban areas: Braşov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timişoara. Other objective of this study was to examine the relationships between atmospheric fungal spores and pollen. Few studies have confirmed the high frequency and concentrations for some of these spore types in Romania. The sampling sites differed in habitat characteristics, such as vegetation and microclimate. Airborne spores' sampling was carried out using the Lanzoni volumetric sampler and during August 2008. The totals of airborne spores recorded in this study show a considerable variation. Cladosporium and Alternaria have been identified as the most abundant and frequent fungal aeroallergens in Timişoara and Bucharest. Drechslera-type, Epicoccum, and Nigrospora had very low values of spore count in all sites. Observations show that seven types of pollen appear regularly and few of these are in great abundance. Fungi are present in the air in concentrations considerably in excess of that of pollen grains. Ambrosia artemisiifolia is the most important pollen allergen in all of the sampled areas discussed here, especially in western country (Timişoara).

show abstract

“…This is also the first modeling study on pollen regional dispersion to include the western US. Six tree pollen genera and one grass pollen genus are included in the STaMPS model for this study, representing important allergenic species that typically bloom in southern California during the period covered in our simulations (Hjelmroos-Koski et al, 2006). These genera are Betula (birch tree), Bromus (brome grass), Juglans (walnut tree), Morus (mulberry tree), Olea (olive tree), Platanus (plane tree) and Quercus (oak tree).…”

Section: Dvhimentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a regional-scale pollen emission and transport modeling framework for investigating the impact of climate change on allergic airway disease

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Exposure to bioaerosol allergens such as pollen can cause exacerbations of allergenic airway disease (AAD) in sensitive populations, and thus cause serious public health problems. Assessing these health impacts by linking the airborne pollen levels, concentrations of respirable allergenic material, and human allergenic response under current and future climate conditions is a key step toward developing preventive and adaptive actions. To that end, a regional-scale pollen emission and transport modeling framework was developed that treats allergenic pollens as non-reactive tracers within the coupled Weather Research and Forecasting Community Multiscale Air Quality (WRF/CMAQ) modeling system. The Simulator of the Timing and Magnitude of Pollen Season (STaMPS) model was used to generate a daily pollen pool that can then be emitted into the atmosphere by wind. The STaMPS is driven by species-specific meteorological (temperature and/or precipitation) threshold conditions and is designed to be flexible with respect to its representation of vegetation species and plant functional types (PFTs). The hourly pollen emission flux was parameterized by considering the pollen pool, friction velocity, and wind threshold values. The dry deposition velocity of each species of pollen was estimated based on pollen grain size and density. An evaluation of the pollen modeling framework was conducted for southern California (USA) for the period from March to June 2010. This period coincided with observations by the University of Southern California's Children's Health Study (CHS), which included O 3 , PM 2.5 , and pollen count, as well as measurements of exhaled nitric oxide in study participants. Two nesting domains with horizontal resolutions of 12 and 4 km were constructed, and six representative allergenic pollen genera were included: birch tree, walnut tree, mulberry tree, olive tree, oak tree, and brome grasses. Under the current parameterization scheme, the modeling framework tends to underestimate walnut and peak oak pollen concentrations, and tends to overestimate grass pollen concentrations. The model shows reasonable agreement with observed birch, olive, and mulberry tree pollen concentrations. Sensitivity studies suggest that the estimation of the pollen pool is a major source of uncertainty for simulated pollen concentrations. Achieving agreement between emission modeling and observed pattern of pollen releases is the key for successful pollen concentration simulations.

show abstract

Considerations in the grouping of plant and fungal taxa for an epidemiologic study

Cited by 12 publications

References 139 publications

Fungi and pollen exposure in the first months of life and risk of early childhood wheezing

Fungi and pollen exposure in the first months of life and risk of early childhood wheezing

Variation in Airborne Fungal Spore Concentrations in Four Different Microclimate Regions in Romania

Development of a regional-scale pollen emission and transport modeling framework for investigating the impact of climate change on allergic airway disease

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About