Thunderstorm asthma: controlling (deadly) grass pollen allergy

Davies, Janet M.; Thien, Francis; Hew, Mark

doi:10.1136/bmj.k432

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Inputs of pollen from the North East and East sectors might have to be considered together with inputs of long range transport of reactive gases and aerosols, which follow the same path in the same annual period, as previously reported, for Saclay [40]. The combination of atmospheric pollutants and allergenic pollen content is of great interest in understanding allergy in general and even asthmatic events coincident with thunderstorms during the pollen season [19,60,61]. Over their common atmospheric transport modes, pollen, gas and aerosols can possibly interact.…”

Section: Pollen Point Sources Long Range Transport and Allergen Tranmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In this section, we will focus on five tree species belonging to the Betulaceae and Oleaceae families, two shrub families (Cupressaceae-Taxaceae) and two herbaceous families (Poaceae and Urticaceae) because of their important allergenic properties (Tables 1 and 2). These pollen species are of particular relevance due to their health impacts [60,61] by the French Ministry of Sanitary Survey in the Paris region. For Poaceae all species are considered allergenic and cannot be accurately distinguished between each other via light microscope, hence all species have been condensed into one grouping.…”

Section: Allergenic Pollen Grains Abundance and Variability At Saclaymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal Variability and Geographical Origins of Airborne Pollen Grains Concentrations from 2015 to 2018 at Saclay, France

et al. 2018

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The study of the origin and dispersion processes associated with airborne pollen grains are important to understand due to their impacts on health. In this context, a Hirst-type spore trap was utilized over the period 2015–2018 to monitor ambient pollen grains at Saclay, France, a receptor site influenced by both clean air masses originating from the Atlantic Ocean and polluted air masses under anticyclonic conditions. The objective of this work was to use ZeFir (a user-friendly, software tool recently-developed to investigate the geographical origin and point sources of atmospheric pollution) as a method to analyse total and allergenic airborne pollen grain concentrations. Strong interannual variability was exhibited for the total pollen grains concentrations and it was determined that this was mainly driven by Betulaceae pollen, with a general increasing trend displayed. The start of the pollen season was seen to be triggered by particular synoptic conditions after a period of dormancy and two maximums were displayed, one in April and a second in June. Results from the ZeFir tool, fed with on-site hourly meteorological and pollen measurements, demonstrate that the dominant pollen grains inputs to Saclay are favoured by non-prevailing winds originating from East and North in association with dry air, moderate winds, mild temperature and enhanced insolation.

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Section: Pollen Point Sources Long Range Transport and Allergen Tranmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Allergenic Pollen Grains Abundance and Variability At Saclaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Variability and Geographical Origins of Airborne Pollen Grains Concentrations from 2015 to 2018 at Saclay, France

et al. 2018

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“…Thunderstorms that occur during the pollen season have been observed to induce severe asthma attacks and also deaths in pollen-allergic patients. [60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73] Asthma by thunderstorm is a term used to describe an increase in cases of acute bronchospasm after the appearance of thunderstorms in an area.…”

Section: The Peculiarity Of Allergenic Pollen and Pollen Allergymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asthma related to thunderstorms is one of the phenomena that represent a threat to human health. Thunderstorms that occur during the pollen season have been observed to induce severe asthma attacks and also deaths in pollen‐allergic patients 60‐73 . Asthma by thunderstorm is a term used to describe an increase in cases of acute bronchospasm after the appearance of thunderstorms in an area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of climate change on respiratory allergy and asthma induced by pollen and mold allergens

D’Amato

Chong-Neto

Monge-Ortega

et al. 2020

Allergy

273

155

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The impact of climate change on the environment, biosphere, and biodiversity has become more evident in the recent years. Human activities have increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. Change in climate and the correlated global warming affects the quantity, intensity, and frequency of precipitation type as well as the frequency of extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, thunderstorms, floods, and hurricanes. Respiratory health can be particularly affected by climate change, which contributes to the development of allergic respiratory diseases and asthma. Pollen and mold allergens are able to trigger the release of pro‐inflammatory and immunomodulatory mediators that accelerate the onset the IgE‐mediated sensitization and of allergy. Allergy to pollen and pollen season at its beginning, in duration and intensity are altered by climate change. Studies showed that plants exhibit enhanced photosynthesis and reproductive effects and produce more pollen as a response to high atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). Mold proliferation is increased by floods and rainy storms are responsible for severe asthma. Pollen and mold allergy is generally used to evaluate the interrelation between air pollution and allergic respiratory diseases, such as rhinitis and asthma. Thunderstorms during pollen seasons can cause exacerbation of respiratory allergy and asthma in patients with hay fever. A similar phenomenon is observed for molds. Measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can have positive health benefits.

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“…Thus, there may be some evidence that remaining indoors during and after a thunderstorm is protective. Furthermore, IgE-mediated responses via skin prick testing or measurement of serum-specific IgE concentrations may give some insight into the degree of sensitization of an individual to an aeroallergen 31…”

Section: Contributing Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Thunderstorm-triggered asthma: what we know so far</p>

Harun¹,

Lachapelle²,

Douglass³

2019

JAA

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Thunderstorm-triggered asthma (TA) is the occurrence of acute asthma attacks immediately following a thunderstorm. Epidemics have occurred across the world during pollen season and have the capacity to rapidly inundate a health care service, resulting in potentially catastrophic outcomes for patients. TA occurs when specific meteorological and aerobiological factors combine to affect predisposed patients. Thunderstorm outflows can concentrate aeroallergens, most commonly grass pollen in TA, at ground level to release respirable allergenic particles after rupture by osmotic shock related to humidity and rainfall. Inhalation of high concentrations of these aeroallergens by sensitized individuals can induce early asthmatic responses which are followed by a late inflammatory phase. Other environmental factors such as rapid temperature change and agricultural practices contribute to the causation of TA. The most lethal TA event occurred in Melbourne, Australia, in 2016. Studies on the affected individuals found TA to be associated with allergic rhinitis, ryegrass pollen sensitization, pre-existing asthma, poor adherence to inhaled corticosteroid preventer therapy, hospital admission for asthma in the previous year and outdoor location at the time of the storm. Patients without a prior history of asthma were also affected. These factors are important in extending our understanding of the etiology of TA and associated clinical indicators as well as possible biomarkers which may aid in predicting those at risk and thus those who should be targeted in prevention campaigns. Education on the importance of recognizing asthma symptoms, adherence to asthma treatment and controlling seasonal allergic rhinitis is vital in preventing TA. Consideration of allergen immunotherapy in selected patients may also mitigate risk of future TA. Epidemic TA events are predicted to increase in frequency and severity with climate change, and identifying susceptible patients and preventing poor outcomes is a key research and public health policy priority.

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Thunderstorm asthma: controlling (deadly) grass pollen allergy

Cited by 13 publications

References 7 publications

Temporal Variability and Geographical Origins of Airborne Pollen Grains Concentrations from 2015 to 2018 at Saclay, France

Temporal Variability and Geographical Origins of Airborne Pollen Grains Concentrations from 2015 to 2018 at Saclay, France

The effects of climate change on respiratory allergy and asthma induced by pollen and mold allergens

<p>Thunderstorm-triggered asthma: what we know so far</p>

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