Gender Differences and Effect of Air Pollution on Asthma in Children with and without Allergic Predisposition: Northeast Chinese Children Health Study

Abstract

BackgroundMales and females exhibit different health responses to air pollution, but little is known about how exposure to air pollution affects juvenile respiratory health after analysis stratified by allergic predisposition. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between air pollutants and asthmatic symptoms in Chinese children selected from multiple sites in a heavily industrialized province of China, and investigate whether allergic predisposition modifies this relationship.Methodology/Principal Findings30139 Chinese children aged 3-to-12 years were selected from 25 districts of seven cities in northeast China in 2009. Information on respiratory health was obtained using a standard questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society. Routine air-pollution monitoring data was used for particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO). A two-stage regression approach was applied in data analyses. The effect estimates were presented as odds ratios (ORs) per interquartile changes for PM10, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO. The results showed that children with allergic predisposition were more susceptible to air pollutants than children without allergic predisposition. Amongst children without an allergic predisposition, air pollution effects on asthma were stronger in males compared to females; Current asthma prevalence was related to PM10 (ORs = 1.36 per 31 µg/m3; 95% CI, 1.08–1.72), SO2 (ORs = 1.38 per 21 µg/m3; 95%CI, 1.12–1.69) only among males. However, among children with allergic predisposition, more positively associations between air pollutants and respiratory symptoms and diseases were detected in females; An increased prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was significantly associated with SO2 (ORs = 1.48 per 21 µg/m3; 95%CI, 1.21–1.80), NO2 (ORs = 1.26 per 10 µg/m3; 95%CI, 1.01–1.56), and current asthma with O3 (ORs = 1.55 per 23 µg/m3; 95%CI, 1.18–2.04) only among females.Conclusion/SignificanceAmbient air pollutions were more evident in males without an allergic predisposition and more associations were detected in females with allergic predisposition.

A rapid assessment of the impact of hazard reduction burning around Sydney, May 2016

“…There are also a range of cross-sectional studies that investigated within-community exposure contrasts, more representative of traffic pollution, which have not been reviewed here, but include many positive associations with NO 2 , some of which are statistically significant. Three of the recent area studies on asthma prevalence included multipollutant models (Dong et al, 2011;Pan et al, 2010;Sahsuvaroglu et al, 2009). In the study by Dong et al (2011), the associations were reduced from an OR of 1.19 (95% CI: 1.06-1.34) per 10 μg/m 3 in males and an OR of 1.14 (95% CI: 0.99-1.30) in females to an OR of 0.97 for both sexes in a five-pollutant model.…”

“…Three of the recent area studies on asthma prevalence included multipollutant models (Dong et al, 2011;Pan et al, 2010;Sahsuvaroglu et al, 2009). In the study by Dong et al (2011), the associations were reduced from an OR of 1.19 (95% CI: 1.06-1.34) per 10 μg/m 3 in males and an OR of 1.14 (95% CI: 0.99-1.30) in females to an OR of 0.97 for both sexes in a five-pollutant model. In Pan et al (2010), the effect estimates for current asthma associated with NO 2 were strongly reduced and lost statistical significance in a three-pollutant model with total suspended particulates and SO 2 (total suspended particulates and NO 2 were correlated with r = 0.6).…”

Roles of pollution in the prevalence and exacerbations of allergic diseases in Asia

“…5 Air pollution is consistently shown to be a potent trigger for asthma exacerbations both in children and adults, but there is limited and inconclusive evidence about its role in the initiation of allergic disorders. This review aimed to summarize the evidence of ambient air pollutant exposures as risk factors for the susceptibility of asthma and allergy in the Asian population (Table I) [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and will only include articles that reported the measurements of individual air pollutants. Because many of these studies are based on proximity of the home to the nearest main road or pollution data obtained from monitoring stations, detailed personal exposures of different pollutants were not assessed, and one must interpret the results of these studies with caution.…”

A Bayesian kriging model for estimating residential exposure to air pollution of children living in a high-risk area in Italy

“…We relied on the fact that the main pollution sources of the area and other elements that could influence the emission, dispersion and distribution of air pollutants (land use, urbanization and climate) were relatively stable in the relevant study period. In other cross-sectional studies in the literature, exposure was assessed by 3-year averages of daily concentrations (Braun-Fahrländer et al, 1997;Akinbami et al, 2010;Penard-Morand et al, 2010;Dong et al, 2011). Other cohort studies have followed a more accurate procedure of measuring exposure at different times during children's life in relation to lung development (Gauderman et al, 2007).…”