Defining Pollen Seasons: Background and Recommendations

Bastl, Katharina; Kmenta, Maximilian; Berger, Uwe

doi:10.1007/s11882-018-0829-z

Cited by 57 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The effect sizes of AIT as demonstrated in trials for AR depend on the validity of definitions of, that is, the pollen season (PS) start and end as well as the peak pollen period (PPP) . The pollen flight is influenced by the characteristics and the profile of the flowering season, which are affected by local environment and climate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, the definition of pollen season (PS) and peak pollen periods (PPP) should follow a harmonized application of pollen exposure criteria, taking into account biogeographical differences that may reflect local climate and phenology . Such a definition has been proposed in a recently published Position Paper of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), summarized for birch (Betula) and grass (Poaceae) in Table .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollen season is reflected on symptom load for grass and birch pollen‐induced allergic rhinitis in different geographic areas—An EAACI Task Force Report

Pfaar

Karatzas

Bastl

et al. 2020

Allergy

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Background: The effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in seasonal allergic rhinitis (AR) depends on the definition of pollen exposure intensity or time period.We recently evaluated pollen and symptom data from Germany to examine the new definitions of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) on pollen season and peak pollen period start and end. Now, we aim to confirm the feasibility of these definitions to properly mirror symptom loads for grass and birch polleninduced allergic rhinitis in other European geographical areas such as Austria, Finland and France, and therefore their suitability for AIT and clinical practice support.Methods: Data from twenty-three pollen monitoring stations from three countries in Europe and for 3 years (2014-2016) were used to investigate the correlation between birch and grass pollen concentrations during the birch and grass pollen season defined via the EAACI criteria, and total nasal symptom and medication scores as reported with the aid of the patient's hay-fever diary (PHD). In addition, we conducted a statistical analysis, together with a graphical investigation, to reveal correlations and dependencies between the studied parameters. Results:The analysis demonstrated that the definitions of pollen season as well as peak pollen period start and end as proposed by the EAACI are correlated to polleninduced symptom loads reported by PHD users during birch and grass pollen season. A statistically significant correlation (slightly higher for birch) has been found between the Total Nasal Symptom and Medication Score (TNSMS) and the pollen concentration levels. Moreover, the maximum symptom levels occurred mostly within the peak pollen periods (PPP) following the EAACI criteria. Conclusions:Based on our analyses, we confirm the validity of the EAACI definitions on pollen season for both birch and grass and for a variety of geographical locations for the four European countries (including Germany from a previous publication) analyzed so far. On this basis, the use of the EAACI definitions is supported in future clinical trials on AIT as well as in daily routine for optimal patient care. Further evaluation of the EAACI criteria in other European regions is recommended. K E Y W O R D Sallergen immunotherapy, allergic rhinitis, geographic differences, peak pollen period, pollen concentration, pollen season

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen season is reflected on symptom load for grass and birch pollen‐induced allergic rhinitis in different geographic areas—An EAACI Task Force Report

Pfaar

Karatzas

Bastl

et al. 2020

Allergy

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“…In the absence of academic consensus or regulatory guidelines to define pollen season start dates, current definitions used in the literature vary widely 22 . Most commonly, the start of the pollen season is the date upon which a predefined threshold is met, based on either: (1) a percentage of annual pollen, (2) a certain daily pollen concentration (or over a predefined period, such as three days), or (3) a number of consecutive days during which pollen grains are recorded 23,24 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Internet searches offer insight into early-season pollen patterns in observation-free zones

Hall

Saha

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Tracking concentrations of regional airborne pollen is valuable for a variety of fields including plant and animal ecology as well as human health. However, current methods for directly measuring regional pollen concentrations are labor-intensive, requiring special equipment and manual counting by professionals leading to sparse data availability in select locations. Here, we use publicly available Google Trends data to evaluate whether searches for the term "pollen" can be used to approximate local observed early-season pollen concentrations as reported by the National Allergy Bureau across 25 U.S. regions from 2012-2017, in the context of site-specific characteristics. Our findings reveal that two major factors impact the ability of internet search data to approximate observed pollen: (1) volume/availability of internet search data, which is tied to local population size and media use; and (2) signal intensity of the seasonal peak in searches. Notably, in regions and years where internet search data was abundant, we found strong correlations between local search patterns and observed pollen, thus revealing a potential source of daily pollen data across the U.S. where observational pollen data are not reliably available. Understanding regional airborne pollen patterns is important for a wide range of applications, including both basic and applied science in a range of domains from biology to ecology to public health. Estimates of pollen concentrations at a given location feed into agricultural, phenological, and ecological surveillance and models, and are incorporated into retrospective epidemiological analyses of associations between pollen exposure and adverse health outcomes like rhinitis and allergic asthma, which are of broad importance given that seasonal allergies affect 20-40% of the U.S. population 1, 2. Observations are also important for driving forecast models that are used in risk communication to reduce pollen exposure in susceptible individuals. Currently, the principle and most reliable source of pollen concentration information in the United States comes from the National Allergy Bureau (NAB), part of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). Pollen data included in the NAB dataset are collected by certified counting stations, where specially trained and certified allied health workers count pollen under the direction of an allergist 3. Data must meet certain quality metrics to be included. While the data in this dataset are collected and reported using standardized methods, there is variability in sampling strategies, the costs of data collection are borne by the participating organizations, and participation varies over time. The totality of pollen count stations data currently listed on the AAAAI website covers less than 70 geographic locations in the continental U.S. 3. Given these concerns, other valid approaches to generating estimates of airborne pollen that could expand spatial coverage and address some of the issues related to variable sampling time frames would be ...

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“…Jean Bousquet, MD (1-3), Ignacio J Ansotegui, MD (4), Josep M Anto, PhD (5)(6)(7)(8), Sylvie Arnavielhe, PhD (9), Claus Bachert, MD (10), Xavier Basagaña, PhD (5,7,8), Annabelle Bédard, PhD (5,7,8), Anna Bedbrook, BSc (2), Matteo Bonini, MD (11), Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich, PhD (12), Fulvio Braido, MD (13), Vicky Cardona, MD (14), Wienczyslawa Czarlewski, MD (15), Alvaro A Cruz, MD (16), Pascal Demoly, MD (17)(18), Govert De Vries, MSc (19), Stephanie Dramburg, MD (47), Eve Mathieu-Dupas, PhD (9), Marina Erhola, PhD (20), Wytske J Fokkens, MD (21), Joao A Fonseca, MD (22), Tari Haahtela, MD (23), Peter W Hellings, MD (24), Maddalena Illario, MD (25), Juan Carlos Ivancevich, MD (26), Vesa Jormanainen, MD (20), Ludger Klimek, MD (27), Piotr Kuna, MD (28), Violeta Kvedariene, MD (29), Daniel Laune, PhD (9), Désirée Larenas-Linnemann, MD (30), Olga Lourenço, PhD (31), Gabrielle L Onorato, MSc (2), Paolo M Matricardi, MD (32), Erik Melén, MD (33), Joaquim Mullol, MD (34), Nikos G Papa...…”

Section: Mobile Technology In Allergic Rhinitis: Evolution In Managemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile Technology in Allergic Rhinitis: Evolution in Management or Revolution in Health and Care?

Bousquet

Ansotegui

Antó

et al. 2019

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice

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Defining Pollen Seasons: Background and Recommendations

Cited by 57 publications

References 19 publications

Pollen season is reflected on symptom load for grass and birch pollen‐induced allergic rhinitis in different geographic areas—An EAACI Task Force Report

Pollen season is reflected on symptom load for grass and birch pollen‐induced allergic rhinitis in different geographic areas—An EAACI Task Force Report

Internet searches offer insight into early-season pollen patterns in observation-free zones

Mobile Technology in Allergic Rhinitis: Evolution in Management or Revolution in Health and Care?

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