Allergic rhinitis is associated with atmospheric SO2: Follow-up study of children from elementary schools in Ulsan, Korea

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the association of allergic rhinitis with air pollutant concentrations using the follow-up data of elementary school children in Ulsan, Korea. Methods All students of four elementary schools in Ulsan, South Korea were surveyed at two-year intervals. The survey used data collected five times, over a nine-year period from June 2009 to April 2018. The questionnaire used in the survey was a modified version of the ISAAC (International society of asthma and allergy of children) questionnaire. A skin prick test (SPT) was performed with 24 standard antigens. To estimate the levels of exposure to outdoor air pollution, the concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter 10 μm or less in diameter (PM10) were used. As a dependent variable, a history of allergic rhinitis diagnosed by a doctor during the last 1-year was considered. Logistic regression analysis was used to select variables suitable for the statistical model. The selected variables were then used to assess their association with the dependent variable using the generalized estimation equation. Results Among environmental factors, SO2 was associated with a high risk and PM10 was associated with a low risk of allergic rhinitis. The risk of allergic rhinitis from living in a house built within the last year was high, and the risk from living in a multi-family house or apartment was higher than that from living in a segregated house. History of allergic diseases in the family was a high-risk factor for allergic rhinitis. There was a relationship between a history of bronchiolitis at less than 2 years of age and a high risk of allergic rhinitis. Boys were at a higher risk than girls. Conclusion From the follow-up data of elementary school students in Ulsan, Korea, the concentration of SO2, which is an indicator of the degree of industrialization, was related to the prevalence of allergic rhinitis. Among all the risk factors, history of allergic disease in the parents was the most important factor, and the study reconfirmed the results of the previous studies.

Association between Concentration of Air Pollutants and Prevalence of Inflammatory Sinonasal Diseases: A Nationwide Cross-sectional Study

“…20 Conversely, other studies showed the results that PM 10 was not associated with the AR prevalence 15 or even reported that increased PM 10 was associated with a reduced risk of AR prevalence. 16 However, the study populations in these studies were limited to participants living in a designated metropolitan city. These diversities in the scale of the study population might have led to the discrepancies in the results.…”

“…[12][13][14] However, previous studies concerning air pollutants and inflammatory sinonasal diseases have been limited to analyzing subgroups of regional populations, and the results were inconsistent. 2,9,15,16 Because there is such a debate in this subject, in this population-based cross-sectional study we aimed to verify the association between the concentration of air pollutants and the prevalence of inflammatory sinonasal diseases such as allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), using the data of South Koreans on a nationwide scale. Additionally, we investigated whether immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels or rhinitis-related endoscopic findings of the nasal cavity were related to each air pollutant.…”

“…12–14 However, previous studies concerning air pollutants and inflammatory sinonasal diseases have been limited to analyzing subgroups of regional populations, and the results were inconsistent. 2,9,15,16…”

The Association Between Air Pollutants and Daily Outpatient Visits for Allergic Rhinitis: A Time-Series Analysis Based on Distribution Lag Nonlinear Model in Chongqing, China

“…6 There was a strong correlation between PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and AR in Zhang's study 25 . A study in Korea demonstrated that AR and SO 2 were associated with high risk, and PM 10 was associated with low risk 27 (Kim, 2021). There was a study that researched significant.…”

What Is the Role of Night-Time Noise Exposure in Childhood Allergic Disease?

“…The values for estimating air pollution concentrations were based on the levels produced by Kim et al (2021)’s study [ 42 ]. Air pollution estimates were based on the monthly average data from 13 air quality monitoring sites (AQMS) under the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER).…”