The influence of species richness in primary school surroundings on children lung function and allergic disease development

Abstract

Background: Primary schools represent important environments for biodiversity exposure and thus may play a crucial role on early-life immunomodulation, protecting against allergic sensitization. The aim of this study was to understand how the exposure to different levels of species richness surrounding urban primary schools may influence the development of allergic diseases and asthma in children. Methods:A species richness index (SRI), evaluating habitat diversity in terms of amphibians, birds, reptiles, and small mammals, was estimated and attributed to 20 primary schools in the city of Porto, Portugal. The SRI was measured considering a 100 m straight-line buffer around the schools. Children who attended the participating schools were invited to participate in the study, performed spirometry with bronchodilation and skin-prick tests, and had their parents fill a questionnaire concerning allergy and asthma symptoms, as well as demographic and socioeconomic data. Asthma was defined according to three distinct criteria. Results:The study results showed significant and positive associations between the exposure to species richness in schools and the forced expiratory volume at the first second (FEV 1 ) and forced vital capacity (FVC) parameters both before and after bronchodilation, independently of the asthma and atopic status. Fully adjusted models revealed that a unitary increment in the SRI was associated with an average increase of approximately 2 and 3 mL in FEV 1 and FVC, respectively. Conclusion:Species richness in school surroundings may impact lung function development in children. However, this increase in lung function was not associated with any clinically relevant protective effect on allergy and asthma development. K E Y W O R D S allergy, asthma, biodiversity, lung function, schoolchildren, school, species richness | 359 CAVALEIRO RUFO Et AL. S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Cavaleiro Rufo J, Ribeiro AI, Paciência I, Delgado L, Moreira A. The influence of species richness in primary school surroundings on children lung function and allergic disease development. Pediatr Allergy Immunol.

The neighbourhood natural environment is associated with asthma in children: A birth cohort study

“…In fact, present study's results suggest that living proximate to more species at early‐life increases the risk of asthma and symptoms of asthma at the age of 7, as well as the prevalence of allergic disease in those living in neighbourhoods with a very high number of species, both at the ages of 4 and 7. This results are in agreement with those observed in a study where high levels of species richness surrounding primary schools were shown to be associated with a tendency for a higher prevalence of allergic diseases 46 . Interestingly, the association between SRI and eczema is not so evident in the present study, what could be explained by the differences in criteria for classifying the diseases, as well as the effect of vegetation.…”

Exposure to nature and mental health outcomes during COVID-19 lockdown. A comparison between Portugal and Spain

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