Prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in relation to long‐term exposure to gaseous air pollutants

Abstract

The relationship between long-term exposure to air pollutants, especially with regard to photochemical air pollutants, and asthma prevalence in developed countries is controversial. The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to compare mean levels of the main gaseous air pollutants and prevalence rates of rhinitis, asthma, and asthmatic symptoms. It included 2,445 children from the 8th and 9th school grades who had been living for at least 3 years in an area where some communities undergo the heaviest photochemical exposure in France. Data on rhinitis, asthmatic symptoms, and asthma prevalence were gathered with the ISAAC paper and video questionnaires. The relation between level of air pollutants and asthma was assessed first by comparison of crude prevalence rates (chi-square test), and then by simple regression analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis. No consistent association between mean SO2 and NO2 levels, and prevalence of rhinitis, asthma, or asthmatic symptoms could be demonstrated. In contrast, there were statistically significant associations between prevalence of asthmatic symptoms and mean ozone O3) concentration. The interpretation of such findings is not straightforward, as these symptoms can be interpreted either as respiratory irritation due to exposure to nonspecific airway stimuli or as a true asthmatic state. Additional studies are required to clarify this important issue. In conclusion, this large cross-sectional epidemiologic survey performed in an area of high photochemical air pollution did demonstrate statistically significant associations between the prevalence of asthmatic symptoms and mean O3 concentration.

Effects of ambient air pollution on allergic rhinitis among preschool children in Changsha, China

“…Table 4 showed the associations between the prevalence of childhood rhinitis and average site-specific background levels of air pollutants and age-related personal accumulative exposure by using multivariate logistic regression models. Children's diagnosed allergic rhinitis was not statistically significantly associated with average background concentrations of the three pollutants, but significantly related with age-related personal accumulative exposure of 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 were significantly positively associated with allergic rhinitis. An increase of 10 g/m 3 in age-related personal accumulative exposure to PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 may lead to an increase in the prevalence of children's rhinitis by 2.1% (95% CI, 0.3%-3.9%), 2.6% (95% CI, 0.5%-4.8%) and 3.7% (95% CI, 0.6%-6.9%), respectively.…”

“…Routinely monitored data for PM 10 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 m or less), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) are available from Changsha Environmental Protection Agency. Daily concentrations of each pollutant were measured continuously and reported by the website of Changsha Common Meteorologic Information Service (http://www.csqx.com/).…”

“…Although municipal government adopted a series of measures including reduction and control of factory pollution, the air quality is still serious in some cities [21]. For example, in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, the annual level of PM 10 , the major component of air pollution, continuously exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) (100 g/m 3 ) during the period from 2003 to 2007 (http://www.csqx.com/). The effect of high air pollution in China on the children's allergic diseases is lack.…”

“…Exposure to ambient air pollutants has been suggested to increase the risk of AR in children, but the evidence was still weak and inconclusive [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Some studies have suggested that exposure to outdoor air pollutants, especially for traffic-related pollutant, may increase the risk of allergic rhinitis in children [6][7][8].…”

Use of an index to reflect the aggregate burden of long-term exposure to criteria air pollutants in the United States.

“…The U.S. EPA review of animal tests and epidemiologic studies of ozone (61) concluded that chronic effects may be associated with long-term exposure to ozone. Increases in the prevalence of asthma (62), as well as exacerbation of asthma (47,56,63), have been found to be associated with long-term exposure to ozone. There is also some evidence of effects of ozone at levels below current air quality standards (20,64).…”