Climate Change and Pollen Allergies

Abstract

This chapter reviews the emerging importance of pollen allergies in relation to ongoing climate change. Allergic diseases have been increasing in prevalence over the last decades, partly as the result of the impact of climate change. Increased sensitisation rates and more severe symptoms have been the partial outcome of: increased pollen production of wind-pollinated plants resulting in longterm increased abundance of pollen in the air we breathe; earlier shifts of airborne pollen seasons making occurrence of allergic symptoms harder to predict and deal with efficiently; increased allergenicity of pollen causing more severe health effects in allergic individuals; introduction of new, invasive allergenic plant species causing new sensitisations; environment-environment interactions, such as plants and hosted microorganisms, i.e. fungi and bacteria, which comprise a complex and dynamic system, with additive, presently unforeseeable influences on human health;

Atopy and Lifestyle Survey of Allergic Patients From Urban Environment in Romania: Preliminary Data From an Interactive Qualifying Project

“…There is still a large gap in our knowledge regarding global trends across different biogeographical regions and for a wider diversity of allergenic pollen [ 1 ]. As pollen allergies are rising in Romania, allergists are noticing the need to refine and develop local research in this field [ 7 ].…”

“…The burden of allergic diseases is reported to be progressively increasing during the past five decades mostly in the developed industrialized countries [ 1 ]. Allergies are recognized as an important global epidemic, carrying a significant individual, social and economic burden [ 2 ].…”

Residential green space and seasonal distress in a cohort of tree pollen allergy patients

“…At present, the total prevalence of allergies to common aeroallergens in Europe is almost 30% of the total population (D'Amato et al, 2007). This prevalence is expected to even further increase in the following decades, as a result of prolonged pollen seasons and amplified aeroallergenic pollen loads driven by climate change, air pollution and various interactions between changes in environment and lifestyle (D'Amato and Cecchi, 2008;Damialis et al, 2019;Gilles et al, 2018;Reinmuth-Selzle et al, 2017;Ziska et al, 2019).…”

Environmental and Endogenous Acids Can Trigger Allergic-Type Airway Reactions

“…Inflammation and hypersensitivity of the airways and epidermis, whether allergic or nonallergic, acute or chronic, are pandemic illnesses and epidemiological studies show that they are growing faster in developing countries [ 1 ]. The increase has been attributed to several factors, both genetic [ 2 ] and environmental [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]; this work focuses on the latter.…”

“…Environmental factors that can affect the aetiology of these diseases, such as lifestyle, climate change, and air contaminants, have long been the subject of study and debate the world over [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided recommendations on how to reduce air pollution produced by household activities, one of these being to properly ventilate the home [ 9 ].…”