The Effect of Outdoor Fungal Spore Concentrations on Daily Asthma Severity

Delfino, Ralph J.; Zeiger, Robert S.; Seltzer, James M.; Street, Donald H.; Matteucci, Renee M.; Anderson, Patrick R.; Koutrakis, Petros

doi:10.2307/3433608

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…[5][6][7] There may be several reasons for this lack of consistency. It may result from geographical differences in the allergen levels, 5 in the prevalence of atopy and bronchial responsiveness, 12 and in the clinical and pathological nature of asthma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short term effects of airborne pollen concentrations on asthma epidemic

Tobías

Galán²,

Banegas³

et al. 2003

Thorax

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Background: Few studies have used time series to investigate the relationship between asthma attacks and aeroallergen levels on a daily basis. Methods: This study, based on time series analysis adjusting for meteorological factors and air pollution variables, assessed the short term effects of different types of allergenic pollen on asthma hospital emergencies in the metropolitan area of Madrid (Spain) for the period 1995-8. Results: Statistically significant associations were found for Poaceae pollen (lag of 3 days) and Plantago pollen (lag of 2 days), representing an increase in the range between the 99th and 95th percentiles of 17.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.2 to 32.8) and 15.9% (95% CI 6.5 to 26.2) for Poaceae and Plantago, respectively. A positive association was also observed for Urticaceae (lag of 1 day) with an 8.4% increase (95% CI 2.8 to 14.4). Conclusions: There is an association between pollen levels and asthma related emergencies, independent of the effect of air pollutants. The marked relationship observed for Poaceae and Plantago pollens suggests their implication in the epidemic distribution of asthma during the period coinciding with their abrupt release into the environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short term effects of airborne pollen concentrations on asthma epidemic

Tobías

Galán²,

Banegas³

et al. 2003

Thorax

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“…Some studies have addressed the potential for a confounding role by pollen and spores and have consistently found a lack of confounding effect on the association between air pollution and asthma admissions 1 7 or symptoms. [8][9][10][11][12] Pollen has rarely been associated with asthma symptoms, 13 while spore counts have consistently been found to affect the symptoms of asthma. 9-12 14 Experimentally, there is firm support for the hypothesis that O 3 , NO 2 , SO 2 , and particles modulate allergic responses in asthmatic subjects, 15 which has been observed for O 3 16-18 and NO 2 in human volunteers.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…9-12 14 Experimentally, there is firm support for the hypothesis that O 3 , NO 2 , SO 2 , and particles modulate allergic responses in asthmatic subjects, 15 which has been observed for O 3 16-18 and NO 2 in human volunteers. [18][19][20][21][22] However, only a few studies in real air have analysed the synergism between air pollutants and pollen 1 and fungal spores [9][10][11][12] in exacerbations of asthma.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effect of nitrogen dioxide and ozone on the risk of dying in patients with severe asthma

Sunyer

Basagaña²,

Belmonte³

et al. 2002

Thorax

103

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Background: A study was performed to assess the acute association between air pollution, pollen and spores, and mortality in a population based cohort of subjects with asthma recruited from emergency room admissions for an asthma exacerbation using a case crossover design. Methods: Patients in Barcelona aged over 14 years who died during the period 1985-95 who had visited the emergency department of one of the four largest hospitals in the city for asthma during 1985-9 were included in the study (a total of 467 men and 611 women). Deaths were identified by record linkage of the cohort individuals with the Catalonia mortality registry. Causes of death were based on the underlying cause on the death certificate. Air pollution, pollen and spore levels were measured at the city monitoring stations which provide an average for the entire city. Results: Nitrogen dioxide was associated with mortality for all causes of death (adjusted odds ratio (OR) for an increase of the interquartile range = 1.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09 to 2.64) in asthmatic patients with more than one emergency room admission for asthma. The association was particularly strong for respiratory causes (OR 1.63, 95% CI 0.93 to 2.86). Ozone also increased the risk of death in asthmatic patients (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.30) during spring and summer. The association with particles, pollen, and spores was not significant, and no interactions between air pollutants and pollen and spores were found. Conclusion: Nitrogen dioxide and ozone may exacerbate severe asthma and even cause death among asthmatic subjects.

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“…Some studies have found an association with total counts of mould spores,11 14 16 whereas others have reported a correlation between severity indices and specific groups or species, including basidiospores14-16; Cladosporium 13; Alternaria 16; and Didymella exitialis. 12 The release of spores of Didymella and Sporobolomyces in response to rapid changes in humidity was suggested as a possible explanation for an outbreak of asthma attacks after a thunderstorm around Birmingham, United Kingdom, in July 1983 17.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal and other spore counts as predictors of admissions for asthma in the Trent region

Newson

Strachan²,

Corden³

et al. 2000

Occup Environ Med

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Objectives-The importance of airborne fungal and other spores in provoking asthma attacks is uncertain. Panel studies have generated evidence that suggests a link between outdoor spore counts and severity of asthma. There have been no population based time series studies relating outdoor exposure to spores with incidence of attacks of asthma. Methods-Outcomes were hospital admissions for asthma on 2002 days during 1987-94, for children and adults in the Trent region of England. Predictors were daily counts of 25 spore taxa from volumetric traps in Derby on the same and previous day. Admissions for asthma were adjusted for weekly, seasonal, and longer term trends by log linear autoregressive models. Spore counts on 6 days of asthma epidemics were also examined. Results-When spore counts for individual taxa were analysed as quantitative variables, two positive and two negative correlations (out of a possible 100) were significant at the 5% level. When spore counts were dichotomised at the 90th percentile, one negative and eight positive correlations (out of 100) were significant at the 5% level. All significantly positive associations related to admissions among children, but none involved the total spore count. However, total spores were above the 90th percentile on four of the six epidemic days (odds ratio (OR) 9.92, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.41 to 109.84), but epidemics occurred on only four of 343 days with high total moulds. Conclusions-There was some evidence that exceptional rates of admission for asthma tend to occur on days with high total mould spore counts, but no specific taxon was consistently implicated. The predictive power was insuYcient to support a public warning system. (Occup Environ Med 2000;57:786-792)

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The Effect of Outdoor Fungal Spore Concentrations on Daily Asthma Severity

Cited by 25 publications

References 31 publications

Short term effects of airborne pollen concentrations on asthma epidemic

Short term effects of airborne pollen concentrations on asthma epidemic

Effect of nitrogen dioxide and ozone on the risk of dying in patients with severe asthma

Fungal and other spore counts as predictors of admissions for asthma in the Trent region

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