The Clinical Characteristics of Respiratory Allergy in Immigrants in Northern Italy

Lombardi, Carlo; Penagos, Martín; Senna, Gianenrico; Canonica, Giorgio Walter; Passalacqua, Giovanni

doi:10.1159/000142046

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Migration studies provide useful information on the role of environmental factors, including climate changes, and on the development of atopy and asthma [48][49][50][51]. Migration involves exposure to a new set of air pollutants and allergens, as well as changes in housing conditions, diet and accessibility to medical services, all of which are likely to affect migrants' health.…”

Section: Role Of Migration Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and respiratory diseases

D’Amato

Cecchi²,

D’Amato³

et al. 2014

Eur Respir Rev

244

108

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@ERSpublications Climate change represents a threat to respiratory health by acting on respiratory diseases or their risk factors http://ow.ly/v6JElChanges in climate constitute a reality that, according to recent projections, is going to worsen in the coming years. Climate change represents a massive threat to respiratory health: 1) by directly promoting or aggravating respiratory diseases; or 2) by increasing exposure to risk factors for respiratory diseases. Climate change increases the amount of pollen and allergen produced by each plant, mould proliferation and the concentrations of outdoor ozone and particulate matter at ground level. The main diseases of concern are asthma, rhinosinusitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory tract infections. Groups at higher risk of climate change effects include individuals with pre-existing cardiopulmonary diseases or disadvantaged individuals. Adaptation and mitigation measures are strongly needed.It is now widely accepted that the earth's temperature is increasing, as confirmed by warming of the oceans, rising sea levels, glaciers melting, sea ice retreating in the Arctic and diminished snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, changes are also occurring in the amount, intensity, frequency and type of precipitation, as well as the increase of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, floods and hurricanes [1][2][3]. Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is probably due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas (namely carbon dioxide, methane and the nitrous oxides) concentrations [1]. Projections of future greenhouse gas emissions indicate a worsening of the situation with between a 1.1 and 6.4uC increase in the mean temperature by the end of the 21st century [1].Climate change represents a massive direct threat to respiratory health by promoting or aggravating respiratory diseases or indirectly by increasing exposure to risk factors for respiratory diseases [4]. Climate affects weather, air and water quality, local and national food supplies, economics and many other critical health determinants. Observational evidence indicates that regional changes in climate, particularly temperature increases, affect a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world [1, 2], some of which are of concern for respiratory health. A rapid rise has been observed in the number of hot days, such as the 2003 heat wave where temperatures of o35uC were reached resulting in ,40 000 excess deaths across Europe, mostly for cardiopulmonary causes [5,6]. Sea levels have also started to rise as an effect of a regression of the polar ice packs. Both heat waves and melting ice have led to water deprivation in certain

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Section: Role Of Migration Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and respiratory diseases

D’Amato

Cecchi²,

D’Amato³

et al. 2014

Eur Respir Rev

244

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In a recent survey, we collected the data of 237 adult immigrants (129 women, 108 men; mean age, 36.4 years; age range, 18-54 years) living in Brescia, Northwest Italy[19]. The data were compared with a matched sample of the local population.…”

Section: "Immigrant-united Airways Disease": a New Phenotype Of Respimentioning

confidence: 99%

''United Airways Disease'' and Phenotypic Peculiarities of Respiratory Allergy in Immigrants

Lombardi

Passalaqua

Canonica

2009

World Allergy Organization Journal

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Allergy is the result of a complex interaction between genetic background and environmental factors, including exposure to allergens and lifestyle. Migration is a process that involves many radical changes in the environment, including diet, pollutants, allergens, different housing conditions, and patterns of infections. Thus, studies in immigrants may provide important information about the role of environmental factors in the development of allergic respiratory diseases. Several studies addressed this aspect and consistently found that migrants develop allergies at different rates from the local population, and very often the symptoms appear with a delay of 3 to 5 years after migration. More recent data showed that the severity of allergic diseases is greater in migrants, and that usually the onset is with associated asthma and rhinitis. The immigration model strongly suggests that environmental factors overcome the genetic background, and that the clinical phenotype of respiratory allergy in migrants has some peculiarities.

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“…The prevalence of asthma symptoms increased with increases in the number of years living in Italy, suggesting that exposure to environmental factors may contribute to the development of asthma in childhood. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was lower in migrant children than in children born in Italy, and the prevalence increased with the number of years living in Italy [21] . However, a more recent study did not show significant differences in respiratory allergic diseases in immigrant children born either in Italy or abroad compared to children born to Italian parents [23] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…More recent studies of immigrants to Italy confirmed that environmental factors functioned in the induction of upper and lower respiratory allergies more so than genetic factors that were a further promoting factor [20][21][22] . Migrant children had a lower prevalence of asthma symptoms than children born in Italy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atopy and Asthma in Migrants: The Function of Parasites

Rottem

Geller-Bernstein

Shoenfeld

2015

Int Arch Allergy Immunol

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Migration studies have shown that environmental factors in more developed and industrialized countries facilitate atopy and asthma in a time-dependent manner and are affected by age at immigration. Levels of immunoglobulin E are higher in immigrants than in the local population and gradually decrease to the levels of the general population. Parasitic infestation may function in the prevention and pathogenesis of atopic conditions in immigrants from developing countries. Helminths are associated with a reduced prevalence of clinically important atopic disorders, likely because of induction of a regulatory cell population mechanism. Improved understanding of the immunologic background of helminths and their protective function in humans has led to a growing interest in the possibility of reversal of allergies using parasites and the development of new therapies, such as immunomodulation for allergy using ova from parasites orally or intranasally. Strategies for primary prevention in high-risk atopic individuals and secondary prevention guidelines should be developed for populations in developing countries and for immigrants from developing countries to atopy-prevalent developed countries. Improved understanding of the function of parasitic infection in modulation of the immune response may lead to new therapeutic options for allergic conditions.

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The Clinical Characteristics of Respiratory Allergy in Immigrants in Northern Italy

Cited by 19 publications

References 37 publications

Climate change and respiratory diseases

Climate change and respiratory diseases

''United Airways Disease'' and Phenotypic Peculiarities of Respiratory Allergy in Immigrants

Atopy and Asthma in Migrants: The Function of Parasites

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