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Katz DSW, Zigler CM, Bhavnani D, Balcer-Whaley S, Matsui EC. Pollen and viruses contribute to spatio-temporal variation in asthma-related emergency department visits. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 257:119346. [PMID: 38838752 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/25/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asthma exacerbations are an important cause of emergency department visits but much remains unknown about the role of environmental triggers including viruses and allergenic pollen. A better understanding of spatio-temporal variation in exposure and risk posed by viruses and pollen types could help prioritize public health interventions. OBJECTIVE Here we quantify the effects of regionally important Cupressaceae pollen, tree pollen, other pollen types, rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza on asthma-related emergency department visits for people living near eight pollen monitoring stations in Texas. METHODS We used age stratified Poisson regression analyses to quantify the effects of allergenic pollen and viruses on asthma-related emergency department visits. RESULTS Young children (<5 years of age) had high asthma-related emergency department rates (24.1 visits/1,000,000 person-days), which were mainly attributed to viruses (51.2%). School-aged children also had high rates (20.7 visits/1,000,000 person-days), which were attributed to viruses (57.0%), Cupressaceae pollen (0.7%), and tree pollen (2.8%). Adults had lower rates (8.1 visits/1,000,000 person-days) which were attributed to viruses (25.4%), Cupressaceae pollen (0.8%), and tree pollen (2.3%). This risk was spread unevenly across space and time; for example, during peak Cuppressaceae season, this pollen accounted for 8.2% of adult emergency department visits near Austin where these plants are abundant, but 0.4% in cities like Houston where they are not; results for other age groups were similar. CONCLUSIONS Although viruses are a major contributor to asthma-related emergency department visits, airborne pollen can explain a meaningful portion of visits during peak pollen season and this risk varies over both time and space because of differences in plant composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S W Katz
- The Department of Population Health and Data Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, United States; The School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, United States.
| | - Corwin M Zigler
- The Department of Statistics and Data Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Darlene Bhavnani
- The Department of Population Health and Data Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Susan Balcer-Whaley
- The Department of Population Health and Data Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, United States
| | - Elizabeth C Matsui
- The Department of Population Health and Data Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, United States
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Zhaobin S, Yuxin Z, Xingqin A, Na G, Ziming L, Shuwen Z, Yinglin L, Wenxi R, Yaqin B, Jingyi X, Shihong L. Effects of airborne pollen on allergic rhinitis and asthma across different age groups in Beijing, China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169215. [PMID: 38086478 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
In the context of global warming and rapid urbanization, pollen has become a significant public health concern for Chinese citizens. However, there is a paucity of epidemiological research on the impact of pollen on allergen-linked diseases, such as allergic rhinitis and asthma, in China. Using data from the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital between 2013 and 2019, which included allergic rhinitis and asthma incidence, meteorological records, and air pollution data, we employed a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) to examine the relationship between overall and type-specific pollen concentrations in relation to varying population exposures. We found that increased overall pollen concentrations significantly increased the risks of allergic rhinitis and asthma in diverse populations. Notably, the risk of allergic rhinitis was higher than that of asthma at equivalent pollen concentrations. Seasonal trends indicated that spring pollen peaks, primarily from trees, were associated with a lower risk of both allergic rhinitis and asthma than autumn peaks, predominantly from weeds. This study underscores the importance of identifying pollen species that pose heightened risks to different demographic groups across seasons, thereby providing targeted interventions for public health agencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sun Zhaobin
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
| | - Zhao Yuxin
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - An Xingqin
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Gao Na
- Department of Respiratoryand Critical Care Medicine, Yulin No. 2 Hospital, Yulin 719000, China; Department of Allergy, Yulin No.2 Hospital, Yulin 719000, China
| | - Li Ziming
- Beijing Weather Forecast Center, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Zhang Shuwen
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and College of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Liang Yinglin
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ruan Wenxi
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Bu Yaqin
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xin Jingyi
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Li Shihong
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China.
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3
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Xu Q, Zhou Q, Chen J, Li T, Ma J, Du R, Su M, Li J, Xu M, Sun S, Ma J, Ramanathan M, Zhang Z. The incidence of asthma attributable to temperature variability: An ecological study based on 1990-2019 GBD data. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:166726. [PMID: 37659541 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asthma, the second leading cause of death from chronic respiratory diseases, is associated with climate change, especially temperature changes. It is currently unclear about the relationship between long-term temperature variability and the incidence of asthma on a global scale. METHODS We used asthma incidence, demographic and socioeconomic data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Results Database, and environmental and geographical statistics from TerraClimate between 1990 and 2019 to determine the association between maximum temperature variability and asthma incidence. We also predicted the incidence of heat-related asthma in the future (2020-2100) under four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs: 126, 245, 370, and 585). RESULTS Between 1990 and 2019, the global median incidence of asthma was 402.0 per 100,000 with a higher incidence (median: 1380.3 per 100,000) in children under 10 years old. We found that every 1 °C increase in maximum temperature variability increased the risk of asthma globally by 5.0 %, and the effect was robust for individuals living in high-latitude areas or aged from 50 to 70 years. By 2100, the average incidence of asthma is estimated to be reduced by 95.55 %, 79.32 %, and 40.02 % under the SSP126, SSP245, and SSP370 scenarios, respectively, compared to the SSP585 at latitudes >60°. CONCLUSION Our study provides evidence that maximum temperature variability is associated with asthma incidence. These findings suggest that implementing stricter mitigation and adaptation strategies may be importment in reducing asthma cases caused by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingsong Xu
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Qinfeng Zhou
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Junjun Chen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
| | - Tong Li
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Junxiong Ma
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Runming Du
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Mintao Su
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Li
- Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ming Xu
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; Institute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Shengzhi Sun
- School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Ma
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Murugappan Ramanathan
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA
| | - Zhenyu Zhang
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China; Institute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, Beijing, China.
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4
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Hwang H, Jang JH, Lee E, Park HS, Lee JY. Prediction of the number of asthma patients using environmental factors based on deep learning algorithms. Respir Res 2023; 24:302. [PMID: 38041105 PMCID: PMC10693131 DOI: 10.1186/s12931-023-02616-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Air pollution, weather, pollen, and influenza are typical aggravating factors for asthma. Previous studies have identified risk factors using regression-based and ensemble models. However, studies that consider complex relationships and interactions among these factors have yet to be conducted. Although deep learning algorithms can address this problem, further research on modeling and interpreting the results is warranted. METHODS In this study, from 2015 to 2019, information about air pollutants, weather conditions, pollen, and influenza were utilized to predict the number of emergency room patients and outpatients with asthma using recurrent neural network, long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit models. The relative importance of the environmental factors in asthma exacerbation was quantified through a feature importance analysis. RESULTS We found that LSTM was the best algorithm for modeling patients with asthma. Our results demonstrated that influenza, temperature, PM10, NO2, CO, and pollen had a significant impact on asthma exacerbation. In addition, the week of the year and the number of holidays per week were an important factor to model the seasonality of the number of asthma patients and the effect of holiday clinic closures, respectively. CONCLUSION LSTM is an excellent algorithm for modeling complex epidemiological relationships, encompassing nonlinearity, lagged responses, and interactions. Our study findings can guide policymakers in their efforts to understand the environmental factors of asthma exacerbation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyemin Hwang
- Environmental Engineering Department, Ajou University, Suwon, 16499, Korea
| | - Jae-Hyuk Jang
- Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, 16499, Korea
| | - Eunyoung Lee
- Department of Neurology, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Hae-Sim Park
- Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, 16499, Korea
| | - Jae Young Lee
- Environmental and Safety Engineering Department, Ajou University, 206, World Cup-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, 16499, Korea.
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Zhao Y, Sun Z, Xiang L, An X, Hou X, Shang J, Han L, Ye C. Effects of pollen concentration on allergic rhinitis in children: A retrospective study from Beijing, a Chinese megacity. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 229:115903. [PMID: 37080269 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
With global climate change and rapid urbanization, the prevalence of allergic diseases caused by pollen is rising dramatically worldwide with unprecedented complexity and severity, especially for children in mega-cities. However, because of the lack of long time-series pollen concentrations data, the accurate evaluation of the impact of pollen on allergic rhinitis (AR) was scarce in the Chinese metropolis. A generalized additive model was used to assess the effect of pollen concentration on pediatric AR outpatient visits in Beijing from 2014 to 2019. A stratified analysis of 10 pollen species and age-gender-specific groups was also conducted during the spring and summer-autumn peak pollen periods separately. Positive associations between pollen concentration and pediatric AR varied with the season and pollen species were detected. Although the average daily pollen concentration is higher during the spring tree pollen peak, the influence was stronger at the summer-autumn weed pollen peak with the maximum relative risk 1.010 (95% CI 1.009, 1.011), which was higher than the greatest relative risk, 1.003 (95% CI 1.002, 1.004) in the spring peak. The significant adverse effects can be sustained to lag10 during the study period, and longer in the summer-autumn peak (lag13) than in the spring peak (lag8). There are thresholds for the health effects and they varied between seasons. The significant effect appeared when the pollen concentration was higher than 3.74 × 105 grain·m-2·d-1 during the spring tree pollen peaks and 4.70 × 104 grain·m-2·d-1 during the summer-autumn weed pollen peaks. The stratified results suggested that the species-specific effects were heterogeneous. It further highlights that enough attention should be paid to the problem of pollen allergy in children, especially school-aged children aged 7-18 years and weed pollen in the summer-autumn peak pollen period. These findings provide a more accurate reference for the rational coordination of medical resources and improvement of public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Zhao
- Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, School of Atmospheric Physics Nanjing, 210044, Jiangsu Province, China; State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Zhaobin Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Li Xiang
- Children's National Medical Center, Department of Anaphylaxis, Beijing Children's Hospital- Capital Medical University, Key Laboratory of Pediatric Major Diseases-Ministry of Education, National Clinical Medical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Beijing, 100045, China.
| | - Xingqin An
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather of CMA, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
| | - Xiaoling Hou
- Children's National Medical Center, Department of Anaphylaxis, Beijing Children's Hospital- Capital Medical University, Key Laboratory of Pediatric Major Diseases-Ministry of Education, National Clinical Medical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Beijing, 100045, China
| | - Jing Shang
- Key Laboratory of Urban Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Ling Han
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Caihua Ye
- Beijing Meteorological Service Center, Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Beijing, 100089, China
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Nitschke M, Dear KBG, Venugopal K, Lyne KMR, Jersmann HPA, Simon DL, Spurrier N. Association between grass, tree and weed pollen and asthma health outcomes in Adelaide, South Australia: a time series regression analysis. BMJ Open 2022; 12:e066851. [PMID: 36414301 PMCID: PMC9723903 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aim to establish daily risk estimates of the relationships between grass, tree and weed pollen and asthma health outcomes. DESIGN Time series regression analysis of exposure and health outcomes using interaction by month to determine risk estimates all year round. SETTING Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. PARTICIPANTS Health outcomes for asthma are based on 15 years of hospital admissions, 13 years emergency presentations and ambulance callouts. In adults (≥18 years), there were 10 381 hospitalisations, 26 098 emergency department (ED) presentations and 11 799 ambulance callouts and in children (0-17 years), 22 114, 39 813 and 3774, respectively. OUTCOME MEASURES The cumulative effect of 7 day lags was calculated as the sum of the coefficients and reported as incidence rate ratio (IRR) related to an increase in 10 grains of pollen/m3. RESULTS In relation to grass pollen, children and adults were disparate in their timing of health effects. Asthma outcomes in children were positively related to grass pollen in May, and for adults in October. Positive associations with weed pollen in children was seen from February to May across all health outcomes. For adults, weed pollen-related health outcomes were restricted to February. Adults were not affected by tree pollen, while children's asthma morbidity was associated with tree pollen in August and September. In children, IRRs ranged from 1.14 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.21) for ED presentations for tree pollen in August to 1.98 (95% CI 1.06 to 3.72) for weed pollen in February. In adults, IRRs ranged from 1.28 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.62) for weed pollen in February to 1.31 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.57) for grass pollen in October. CONCLUSION Monthly risk assessment indicated that most pollen-related asthma health outcomes in children occur in the colder part of the year, while adults are affected in the warm season. The findings indicate a need for year-round pollen monitoring and related health campaigns to provide effective public health prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Nitschke
- School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- SA Health Department for Health and Wellbeing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | | | - Kamalesh Venugopal
- Prevention and Population Health, Wellbeing SA, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Katrina Margaret Rose Lyne
- Health Protection and Licensing Services, SA Health Department for Health and Wellbeing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Hubertus Paul Anton Jersmann
- Thoracic Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - David Leslie Simon
- Health Protection and Licensing Services, SA Health Department for Health and Wellbeing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Nicola Spurrier
- SA Health Department for Health and Wellbeing, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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7
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Zapata-Marin S, Schmidt AM, Weichenthal S, Katz DSW, Takaro T, Brook J, Lavigne E. Within city spatiotemporal variation of pollen concentration in the city of Toronto, Canada. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 206:112566. [PMID: 34922985 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The exacerbation of asthma and respiratory allergies has been associated with exposure to aeroallergens such as pollen. Within an urban area, tree cover, level of urbanization, atmospheric conditions, and the number of source plants can influence spatiotemporal variations in outdoor pollen concentrations. OBJECTIVE We analyze weekly pollen measurements made between March and October 2018 over 17 sites in Toronto, Canada. The main goals are: to estimate the concentration of different types of pollen across the season; estimate the association, if any, between pollen concentration and environmental variables, and provide a spatiotemporal surface of concentration of different types of pollen across the weeks in the studied period. METHODS We propose an extension of the land-use regression model to account for the temporal variation of pollen levels and the high number of measurements equal to zero. Inference is performed under the Bayesian framework, and uncertainty of predicted values is naturally obtained through the posterior predictive distribution. RESULTS Tree pollen was positively associated with commercial areas and tree cover, and negatively associated with grass cover. Both grass and weed pollen were positively associated with industrial areas and TC brightness and negatively associated with the northing coordinate. The total pollen was associated with a combination of these environmental factors. Predicted surfaces of pollen concentration are shown at some sampled weeks for all pollen types. SIGNIFICANCE The predicted surfaces obtained here can help future epidemiological studies to find possible associations between pollen levels and some health outcome like respiratory allergies at different locations within the study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Zapata-Marin
- Quantitative Life Sciences Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Alexandra M Schmidt
- Quantitative Life Sciences Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Scott Weichenthal
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Daniel S W Katz
- Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Tim Takaro
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Brook
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Eric Lavigne
- Air Health Science Division and Population Studies Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Atanasio A, Franklin MC, Kamat V, Hernandez AR, Badithe A, Ben LH, Jones J, Bautista J, Yancopoulos GD, Olson W, Murphy AJ, Sleeman MA, Orengo JM. Targeting immunodominant Bet v 1 epitopes with monoclonal antibodies prevents the birch allergic response. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2022; 149:200-211. [PMID: 34126155 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2021.05.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blocking the major cat allergen, Fel d 1, with mAbs was effective in preventing an acute cat allergic response. OBJECTIVES This study sought to extend the allergen-specific antibody approach and demonstrate that a combination of mAbs targeting Bet v 1, the immunodominant and most abundant allergenic protein in birch pollen, can prevent the birch allergic response. METHODS Bet v 1-specific mAbs, REGN5713, REGN5714, and REGN5715, were isolated using the VelocImmune platform. Surface plasmon resonance, x-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy determined binding kinetics and structural data. Inhibition of IgE-binding, basophil activation, and mast cell degranulation were assessed via blocking ELISA, flow cytometry, and the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis mouse model. RESULTS REGN5713, REGN5714, and REGN5715 bind with high affinity and noncompetitively to Bet v 1. A cocktail of all 3 antibodies, REGN5713/14/15, blocks IgE binding to Bet v 1 and inhibits Bet v 1- and birch pollen extract-induced basophil activation ex vivo and mast cell degranulation in vivo. Crystal structures of the complex of Bet v 1 with immunoglobulin antigen-binding fragments of REGN5713 or REGN5715 show distinct interaction sites on Bet v 1. Cryo-electron microscopy reveals a planar and roughly symmetrical complex formed by REGN5713/14/15 bound to Bet v 1. CONCLUSIONS These data confirm the immunodominance of Bet v 1 in birch allergy and demonstrate blockade of the birch allergic response with REGN5713/14/15. Structural analyses show simultaneous binding of REGN5713, REGN5714, and REGN5715 with substantial areas of Bet v 1 exposed, suggesting that targeting specific epitopes is sufficient to block the allergic response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Li-Hong Ben
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Tarrytown, NY
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9
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Bozigar M, Lawson AB, Pearce JL, Svendsen ER, Vena JE. Using Bayesian time-stratified case-crossover models to examine associations between air pollution and "asthma seasons" in a low air pollution environment. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260264. [PMID: 34879071 PMCID: PMC8654232 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many areas of the United States have air pollution levels typically below Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory limits. Most health effects studies of air pollution use meteorological (e.g., warm/cool) or astronomical (e.g., solstice/equinox) definitions of seasons despite evidence suggesting temporally-misaligned intra-annual periods of relative asthma burden (i.e., “asthma seasons”). We introduce asthma seasons to elucidate whether air pollutants are associated with seasonal differences in asthma emergency department (ED) visits in a low air pollution environment. Within a Bayesian time-stratified case-crossover framework, we quantify seasonal associations between highly resolved estimates of six criteria air pollutants, two weather variables, and asthma ED visits among 66,092 children ages 5–19 living in South Carolina (SC) census tracts from 2005 to 2014. Results show that coarse particulates (particulate matter <10 μm and >2.5 μm: PM10-2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) may contribute to asthma ED visits across years, but are particularly implicated in the highest-burden fall asthma season. Fine particulate matter (<2.5 μm: PM2.5) is only associated in the lowest-burden summer asthma season. Relatively cool and dry conditions in the summer asthma season and increased temperatures in the spring and fall asthma seasons are associated with increased ED visit odds. Few significant associations in the medium-burden winter and medium-high-burden spring asthma seasons suggest other ED visit drivers (e.g., viral infections) for each, respectively. Across rural and urban areas characterized by generally low air pollution levels, there are acute health effects associated with particulate matter, but only in the summer and fall asthma seasons and differing by PM size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Bozigar
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Andrew B. Lawson
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - John L. Pearce
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Erik R. Svendsen
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - John E. Vena
- Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
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Pollen Exposure and Associated Healthcare Utilization: A Population-based Study Using HMO Data in the Washington, DC Area. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2021; 18:1642-1649. [PMID: 33794139 PMCID: PMC8522299 DOI: 10.1513/annalsats.202008-976oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Most studies of the healthcare utilization impact of pollen exposure have focused on emergency department visits or hospital admissions. However, other frequent but lower cost services—phone calls and e-mails to providers and office visits—may also be affected. Objectives: The objective of our study was to estimate the impact of tree and grass pollen exposures on respiratory-related healthcare utilization across a range of medical services, including calls and e-mails to providers, nonurgent face-to-face visits, urgent and emergent care visits, and hospitalizations. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of daily tree and grass pollen counts linked to electronic health records of Kaiser Permanente beneficiaries in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area for 2013–2014. Results: The proportion of Kaiser Permanente beneficiaries with respiratory-related healthcare utilization was significantly greater (for P ⩽ 0.05) given a 1 standard deviation increase in same-day pollen exposure. For tree pollen, a 1 standard deviation increase in same-day pollen exposure was associated with relative increases in utilization ranging from 1.77% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07–4.17%) for urgent and emergent care visits to 12.84% (95% CI, 11.02–14.65%) for provider calls/e-mails. For grass pollen exposure, a 1 standard deviation increase in same-day pollen exposure was associated with relative increases in utilization ranging from 1.42% (95% CI, 0.39–2.46) for provider face-to-face visits to 11.09% (95% CI, 9.26–12.92) for provider calls/e-mails. Conclusions: Increased pollen exposure was associated with increases in healthcare utilization across a range of services, with relatively higher increases in provider calls/e-mails and lower increases in emergent or acute care. If climate change increases intensity and geographic scope of pollen exposure as predicted and if this study’s estimates of association of peak pollen exposure on healthcare utilization are generalizable, then the impact of climate change on healthcare utilization may be significant.
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11
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Roubelat S, Besancenot JP, Bley D, Thibaudon M, Charpin D. Inventory of the Recommendations for Patients with Pollen Allergies and Evaluation of Their Scientific Relevance. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2020; 181:839-852. [PMID: 32911472 DOI: 10.1159/000510313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Pollens are responsible for allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma. The incidence of these diseases, which have adversely impacted the social and professional lives of people who are allergic to pollen, has tripled in the past 25 years. Official institutes, health care institutions, public interest groups, and mainstream news media provide people who are allergic to pollen with advice aimed at reducing their symptoms. The aim of this work was to provide an inventory of the prevention guidelines in the world and to evaluate their scientific relevance. A PubMed search was carried out using specific keywords. The scientific relevance of the recommendations was evaluated based on the publications disproving or confirming their merit. The guidelines issued by 12 countries in Europe, North America, and Australia were inventoried. The recommendations for avoidance were most often based on scientific data regarding their impact on pollen exposures, but they have not been clinically validated. Several studies provided additional details, however, that allowed the guidelines to be further substantiated. These guidelines have been adopted in numerous industrialized countries in the world, and they generally appear to be of relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solenne Roubelat
- Aix-Marseille University and the French Clean Air Association, Marseille, France
| | | | - Daniel Bley
- UMR 7300 ESPACE, Arbois Mediterranean Europole, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | | | - Denis Charpin
- Aix-Marseille University and the French Clean Air Association, Marseille, France,
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12
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Katz DSW, Batterman SA. Urban-scale variation in pollen concentrations: A single station is insufficient to characterize daily exposure. AEROBIOLOGIA 2020; 36:417-431. [PMID: 33456131 PMCID: PMC7810344 DOI: 10.1007/s10453-020-09641-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological analyses of airborne allergenic pollen often use concentration measurements from a single station to represent exposure across a city, but this approach does not account for the spatial variation of concentrations within the city. Because there are few descriptions of urban-scale variation, the resulting exposure measurement error is unknown but potentially important for epidemiological studies. This study examines urban scale variation in pollen concentrations by measuring pollen concentrations of 13 taxa over 24-hr periods twice weekly at 25 sites in two seasons in Detroit, Michigan. Spatio-temporal variation is described using cumulative distribution functions and regression models. Daily pollen concentrations across the 25 stations varied considerably, and the average quartile coefficient of dispersion was 0.63. Measurements at a single site explained 3-85% of the variation at other sites, depending on the taxon, and 95% prediction intervals of pollen concentrations generally spanned one to two orders of magnitude. These results demonstrate considerable heterogeneity of pollen levels at the urban scale, and suggest that the use of a single monitoring site will not reflect pollen exposure over an urban area and can lead to sizable measurement error in epidemiological studies, particularly when a daily time-step is used. These errors might be reduced by using predictive daily pollen levels in models that combine vegetation maps, pollen production estimates, phenology models and dispersion processes, or by using coarser time-steps in the epidemiological analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S W Katz
- University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Environmental Health Sciences, 1415 Washington Heights Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Stuart A Batterman
- University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Environmental Health Sciences, 1415 Washington Heights Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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13
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Sapkota A, Dong Y, Li L, Asrar G, Zhou Y, Li X, Coates F, Spanier AJ, Matz J, Bielory L, Breitenother AG, Mitchell C, Jiang C. Association Between Changes in Timing of Spring Onset and Asthma Hospitalization in Maryland. JAMA Netw Open 2020; 3:e207551. [PMID: 32663309 PMCID: PMC7339136 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.7551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Ongoing climate change is affecting the health of communities across the globe. While direct consequences, including morbidity and mortality tied to increases in the frequency of extreme weather events, have received significant attention, indirect health effects, particularly those associated with climate change-driven disruptions in ecosystems, are less understood. OBJECTIVE To investigate how ongoing changes in the timing of spring onset related to climate change are associated with rates of asthma hospitalization in Maryland. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study of 29 257 patients with asthma used general additive (quasi Poisson) and mixed-effect (negative binomial) models to investigate the association between changes in the timing of spring onset, detected using satellite observations, and the risk of asthma hospitalization in Maryland from 2001 to 2012. Data analysis was conducted from January 2016 to March 2019. EXPOSURES Phenology data, derived from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, were used to calculate location-specific median dates for start of season from 2001 to 2012. How the start of season for a given year and location deviated from the long-term average was calculated and categorized as very early, early, normal, or late. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Daily asthma hospitalization in Maryland during the spring season (ie, March to May). RESULTS There were 108 358 total asthma hospitalizations during the study period, of which 29 257 (27.0%; 14 379 [49.1%] non-Hispanic black patients; 17 877 [61.1%] women) took place during springtime. In the unadjusted model, very early (incident rate ratio [IRR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.07-1.28) and late (IRR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.15) onset of spring were associated with increased risk of asthma hospitalization. When the analysis was adjusted for extreme heat events and concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm, the risk remained significant for very early spring onset (IRR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02-1.20) but not for late spring onset (IRR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.97-1.11). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These results suggest that ongoing changes in the timing of spring onset, which are related to climate variability and change, are associated with asthma hospitalization. Given the high burden of allergic diseases and the number of individuals sensitized to tree pollen, these findings serve as a wake-up call to public health and medical communities regarding the need to anticipate and adapt to the ongoing changes in the timing and severity of the spring allergy season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Sapkota
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park
| | - Yan Dong
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park
- School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Linze Li
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park
- School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ghassem Asrar
- Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, Maryland
| | - Yuyu Zhou
- Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames
| | - Xuecao Li
- Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames
| | - Frances Coates
- Aerobiology Research Laboratories, Nepean, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Leonard Bielory
- Department of Medicine, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, Nutley, New Jersey
- Center for Environmental Prediction, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Allison G. Breitenother
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park
- Environmental Health Bureau, Maryland Department of Health, Baltimore
| | - Clifford Mitchell
- Environmental Health Bureau, Maryland Department of Health, Baltimore
| | - Chengsheng Jiang
- Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park
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14
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ASTHMA EXACERBATIONS IN REUNION ISLAND: ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. Respir Med Res 2020; 81:100779. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resmer.2020.100779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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15
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Simunovic M, Dwarakanath D, Addison-Smith B, Susanto NH, Erbas B, Baker P, Davies JM. Grass pollen as a trigger of emergency department presentations and hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in the subtropics: A systematic review. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 182:109125. [PMID: 32069762 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION It is unknown if high concentration of airborne grass pollen, where subtropical grasses (Chloridoideae and Panicoideae) dominate, is a risk factor for respiratory health. Here we systematically reviewed the association between airborne grass pollen exposure and asthma emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions in subtropical climates. OBJECTIVES A systematic review was performed to identify and summarise studies that reported on respiratory health (asthma ED presentations and hospital admissions) and airborne grass pollen exposure in subtropical climates. METHODS Searches were conducted in: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase and Google Scholar databases (1966-2019). Risk of bias was assessed using a validated quality assessment tool. A meta-analysis was planned, however due to the heterogeneity in study design it was determined inappropriate and instead a narrative synthesis was undertaken. RESULTS Nineteen studies were identified for inclusion, with a total of 598,931 asthma ED presentation participants and 36,504 asthma hospital admission participants in six countries (Australia, India, Israel, Italy, Spain, USA). The narrative synthesis found airborne grass pollen appears to have a small and inconsistent increase on asthma ED presentations (judged as: probably little effect n = 5, may have little effect n = 4, no effect n = 2 and uncertain if there is an effect n = 4) and hospital admissions (judged as: probably increase slightly n = 2 probably little effect n = 1, may have a little effect n = 1, no effect n = 3 and we are uncertain if there is an effect n = 4) in the subtropics. Furthermore, the reported effect sizes were small and its clinical relevance may be difficult to discern. CONCLUSION Exposure to airborne grass pollen appears to have a small and inconsistent increase on asthma ED presentations and hospital admissions in the subtropics. These findings are comparable to reported observations from studies undertaken in temperate regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Simunovic
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Divya Dwarakanath
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Beth Addison-Smith
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Nugroho H Susanto
- School of Public Health and Epidemiology, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bircan Erbas
- School of Public Health and Epidemiology, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Philip Baker
- School of Public Health and Social Work, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Janet M Davies
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Office of Research, Metro North Hospital and Health Services,Herston, Queensland, Australia
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16
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Gutiérrez-Torres JD. Temporal lagged relationship between a vegetation index and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in Colombia: an analysis implementing a distributed lag nonlinear model. Parasitol Res 2020; 119:1075-1082. [PMID: 31901109 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06592-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease with a strong environmental component. The aim of this research was to implement a distributed lag nonlinear model to explore the temporal lagged relationship between a vegetation index and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases. In this ecological study, a time series of weekly cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis reported between 2007 and 2016 in the five municipalities in Colombia with the most cases of the disease and a vegetation index was analyzed. During the study period, a total of 16,321 cases were reported in these five municipalities. Two municipalities showed a lagged nonlinear positive association between the risk of occurrence of new cases and the magnitude of the vegetation index; two municipalities showed a negative association; and in the remaining municipality, the risk was associated with the vegetation index but its confidence interval was not significant. Our results show different patterns and magnitudes of the lagged relationship between the vegetation index and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases and suggest the possibility of using the lag pattern of the vegetation index in the development of an early warning system where a lagged positive relationship is identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan David Gutiérrez-Torres
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Grupo Ambiental de Investigación Aplicada-GAIA, Universidad de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
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17
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Limaye VS, Max W, Constible J, Knowlton K. Estimating the Health-Related Costs of 10 Climate-Sensitive U.S. Events During 2012. GEOHEALTH 2019; 3:245-265. [PMID: 32159045 PMCID: PMC7007172 DOI: 10.1029/2019gh000202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Climate change threatens human health, but there remains a lack of evidence on the economic toll of climate-sensitive public health impacts. We characterize human mortality and morbidity costs associated with 10 climate-sensitive case study events spanning 11 US states in 2012: wildfires in Colorado and Washington, ozone air pollution in Nevada, extreme heat in Wisconsin, infectious disease outbreaks of tick-borne Lyme disease in Michigan and mosquito-borne West Nile virus in Texas, extreme weather in Ohio, impacts of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York, allergenic oak pollen in North Carolina, and harmful algal blooms on the Florida coast. Applying a consistent economic valuation approach to published studies and state estimates, we estimate total health-related costs from 917 deaths, 20,568 hospitalizations, and 17,857 emergency department visits of $10.0 billion in 2018 dollars, with a sensitivity range of $2.7-24.6 billion. Our estimates indicate that the financial burden of deaths, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and associated medical care is a key dimension of the overall economic impact of climate-sensitive events. We found that mortality costs (i.e., the value of a statistical life) of $8.4 billion exceeded morbidity costs and lost wages ($1.6 billion combined). By better characterizing health damages in economic terms, this work helps to shed light on the burden climate-sensitive events already place on U.S. public health each year. In doing so, we provide a conceptual framework for broader estimation of climate-sensitive health-related costs. The high health-related costs associated with climate-sensitive events highlight the importance of actions to mitigate climate change and adapt to its unavoidable impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wendy Max
- Institute for Health & AgingUniversity of CaliforniaSan FranciscoCAUSA
| | | | - Kim Knowlton
- Natural Resources Defense CouncilNew YorkNYUSA
- Mailman School of Public HealthColumbia UniversityNew YorkNYUSA
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18
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Wu PC, Su HJ, Lung SCC, Chen MJ, Lin WP. Pollen of Broussonetia papyrifera: An emerging aeroallergen associated with allergic illness in Taiwan. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 657:804-810. [PMID: 30677945 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Pollen has long been recognized as a major allergen, having diverse patterns of allergenicity caused by differences in climate, geography, and vegetation. Our research aimed to explore the role of a regionally dominant pollen in Taiwan, Broussonetia papyrifera, on clinical sensitization and daily 5collected and extracted for a skin prick test on 30 volunteers recruited from a medical college. Daily atmospheric pollen levels were measured using a Burkard 7-day volumetric trap. The association between daily atmospheric pollen levels and clinic visits for allergic illness was examined using a generalized additive model with a normal assumption. After excluding four participants with a positive response to a negative control, 10 participants (38.4%) were determined to be sensitive to B. papyrifera pollen extract. The three-day lagged concentration of B. papyrifera pollen exhibited the highest risk of daily asthma visits (relative risk [RR] = 1.166, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.014-1.341) and allergic rhinitis visits (RR = 1.119, 95% CI: 0.916-1.367) when the pollen increased equally in magnitude to its mean. Our study is the first to provide evidence indicating that the most dominant airborne pollen in Taiwan, B. papyrifera, plays a major role in sensitization and clinic visits for asthma and allergic rhinitis, thus highlighting the need to integrate aeroallergen monitoring with clinical diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Chih Wu
- Department of Occupational and Safety and Health, Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Huey-Jen Su
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC.
| | | | - Mu-Jean Chen
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Wei-Ping Lin
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC
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19
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Katz DSW, Dzul A, Kendel A, Batterman SA. Effect of intra-urban temperature variation on tree flowering phenology, airborne pollen, and measurement error in epidemiological studies of allergenic pollen. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 653:1213-1222. [PMID: 30759561 PMCID: PMC6402594 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Temperature gradients in cities can cause inter-neighborhood differences in the timing of pollen release. However, most epidemiological studies examining allergenic pollen utilize daily measurements from a single pollen monitoring station with the implicit assumption that the measured time series of airborne pollen concentrations applies across the study areas, and that the temporal mismatch between concentrations at the counting station and elsewhere in the study area is negligible. This assumption is tested by quantifying temperature using satellite imagery, observing flowering times of oak (Quercus) and mulberry (Morus) trees at multiple sites, and collecting airborne pollen. Epidemiological studies of allergenic pollen are reviewed and temperatures within their study areas are quantified. In this one-year study, peak oak flowering time was well explained by average February nighttime temperature (R2 = 0.94), which varied by 6 °C across Detroit. This relationship was used to predict flowering phenology across the study region. Peak flowering ranged from April 20-May 13 and predicted a substantial portion of relative airborne oak pollen concentrations in Detroit (R2 = 0.46) and at the regional pollen monitoring station (R2 = 0.61). The regional pollen monitoring station was located in a cooler outlying area where peak flowering occurred around May 12 and peak pollen concentrations were measured on May 15. This provides evidence that the timing of pollen release varies substantially within a metropolitan area and challenges the assumption that pollen measurements at a single location are representative of an entire city. Across the epidemiological studies, 50% of study areas were not within 1 °C (equal to a lag or lead of 4 days in flowering time) of temperatures at the pollen measurement location. Epidemiological studies using a single pollen station as a proxy for pollen concentrations are prone to significant measurement error if the study area is climatically variable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S W Katz
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Andrew Dzul
- Lakeshore Ear, Nose, and Throat, Saint Claire Shores, MI, USA
| | - Amber Kendel
- Lakeshore Ear, Nose, and Throat, Saint Claire Shores, MI, USA
| | - Stuart A Batterman
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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20
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Neumann JE, Anenberg SC, Weinberger KR, Amend M, Gulati S, Crimmins A, Roman H, Fann N, Kinney PL. Estimates of Present and Future Asthma Emergency Department Visits Associated With Exposure to Oak, Birch, and Grass Pollen in the United States. GEOHEALTH 2019; 3:11-27. [PMID: 31106285 PMCID: PMC6516486 DOI: 10.1029/2018gh000153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Pollen is an important environmental cause of allergic asthma episodes. Prior work has established a proof of concept for assessing projected climate change impacts on future oak pollen exposure and associated health impacts. This paper uses additional monitor data and epidemiologic functions to extend prior analyses, reporting new estimates of the current and projected future health burden of oak, birch, and grass pollen across the contiguous United States. Our results suggest that tree pollen in the spring currently accounts for between 25,000 and 50,000 pollen-related asthma emergency department (ED) visits annually (95% confidence interval: 14,000 to 100,000), roughly two thirds of which occur among people under age 18. Grass pollen in the summer season currently accounts for less than 10,000 cases annually (95% confidence interval: 4,000 to 16,000). Compared to a baseline with 21st century population growth but constant pollen, future temperature and precipitation show an increase in ED visits of 14% in 2090 for a higher greenhouse gas emissions scenario, but only 8% for a moderate emissions scenario, reflecting projected increases in pollen season length. Grass pollen, which is more sensitive to changes in climatic conditions, is a primary contributor to future ED visits, with the largest effects in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southern Great Plains regions. More complete assessment of the current and future health burden of pollen is limited by the availability of data on pollen types (e.g., ragweed), other health effects (e.g., other respiratory disease), and economic consequences (e.g., medication costs).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kate R. Weinberger
- Department of EpidemiologyBrown University School of Public HealthProvidenceRIUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - Neal Fann
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle ParkNorth CarolinaUSA
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21
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Ribeiro H, Costa C, Abreu I, Esteves da Silva JCG. Effect of O 3 and NO 2 atmospheric pollutants on Platanus x acerifolia pollen: Immunochemical and spectroscopic analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 599-600:291-297. [PMID: 28477486 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.04.206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, the effects of two important oxidizing atmospheric pollutants (O3 and NO2) on the allergenic properties and chemical composition of Platanus x acerifolia pollen were studied. Pollen samples were subjected to O3 and/or NO2 under in vitro conditions for 6h at atmospheric concentration levels (O3: 0.061ppm; NO2: 0.025ppm and the mixture of O3 and NO2: 0.060 and 0.031ppm respectively). Immunoblotting (using Pla a 1 and Pla a 2 antibodies), infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques were used. Immunochemical analysis showed that pollen allergenicity changes were different according to the pollutant tested (gas or mixture of gasses) and that the same pollutant gas may interact in a different manner with each specific allergen. The spectroscopy results showed modifications in the FTIR spectral features of bands assigned to proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides of the pollen exposed to the pollutants, as well as in the XPS spectra high-resolution components C 1s, N 1s, and O 1s. This indicates that while airborne, the pollen wall suffers further modifications of its components induced by air pollution, which can compromise the pollen function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Ribeiro
- Earth Sciences Institute, Pole of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Célia Costa
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ilda Abreu
- Earth Sciences Institute, Pole of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Biology Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
| | - Joaquim C G Esteves da Silva
- Earth Sciences Institute, Pole of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Centre of Investigation in Chemistry (CIQ-UP), University of Porto, R. Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
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22
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Different clinical effect of several types of airborne allergens on the severity of bronchial hyperreactivity. Wien Klin Wochenschr 2017; 129:674-679. [PMID: 28593388 DOI: 10.1007/s00508-017-1220-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atopic sensitization belongs to the most common risk factors for bronchial asthma. However, in clinical practice, it is not clear whether sensitization against pollen and perennial allergens is differently associated with the severity of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). AIM To find out whether patients sensitized to perennial allergens differ in severity of bronchial hyperresponsiveness from patients sensitized to pollen allergens. METHODS The study includes 109 patients. Based on the results of skin prick tests, patients were divided into three groups: sensitivity to pollen allergens - group A; sensitivity to perennial allergens - group B; sensitivity to both pollen and perennial allergens - group C. Based on the histamine bronchoprovocation test, we compared the values of histamine provocative concentration causing a 20% drop in FEV1 (PC20) among particular groups of patients. Mild bronchial hyperresponsiveness was determined if the value of PC20 was >4 mg/ml, while if the value of PC20 was <4 mg/ml, the bronchial hyperresponsiveness was considered as moderate/severe. RESULTS A statistically significant difference was found in the degrees of bronchial hyperresponsiveness between the three groups of patients, namely, group A with the patients sensitized only to the pollen allergens, group B comprising patients sensitized to the perennial allergens only, and group C, involving patients sensitized to the combination of both pollen and perennial allergens. The PC20 values were higher among the patients from the group A (7.46 mg/ml) compared to group B (4.25 mg/ml) and C (4.52 mg/ml). The odds ratio for moderate/severe BHR was 5.21 and 5.04 in group B and group C, respectively. CONCLUSION Severity of bronchial hyperresponsiveness shows differences according to sensitization to particular allergens. Perennial allergens are more often associated with serious forms of bronchial hyperresponsiveness which also have an impact on the severity and prognosis of bronchial asthma.
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Stickley A, Sheng Ng CF, Konishi S, Koyanagi A, Watanabe C. Airborne pollen and suicide mortality in Tokyo, 2001-2011. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2017; 155:134-140. [PMID: 28219016 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Prior research has indicated that pollen might be linked to suicide mortality although the few studies that have been undertaken to date have produced conflicting findings and been limited to Western settings. This study examined the association between the level of airborne pollen and suicide mortality in Tokyo, Japan in the period from 2001 to 2011. The daily number of suicide deaths was obtained from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, with pollen data being obtained from the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health. A time-stratified case-crossover study was performed to examine the association between different levels of pollen concentration and suicide mortality. During the study period there were 5185 male and 2332 female suicides in the pollen season (February to April). For men there was no association between airborne pollen and suicide mortality. For women, compared to when there was no airborne pollen, the same-day (lag 0) pollen level of 30 to <100 grains per cm2 was associated with an approximately 50% increase in the odds for suicide (e.g. 30 to <50 grains per cm2: odds ratio 1.574, 95% confidence interval 1.076-2.303, p=0.020). The estimates remained fairly stable after adjusting for air pollutants and after varying the cut-points that defined the pollen levels. Our results indicate that pollen is associated with female suicide mortality in Tokyo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Stickley
- The Stockholm Center for Health and Social Change (SCOHOST), Södertörn University, Huddinge 141 89, Sweden.
| | - Chris Fook Sheng Ng
- Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Shoko Konishi
- Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Box 353100, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Ai Koyanagi
- Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Dr Antoni Pujadas,, 42, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona 08830, Spain; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Monforte de Lemos 3-5 Pabellón 11, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Chiho Watanabe
- Department of Human Ecology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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