The impact of pollen load on quality of life: a questionnaire-based study in Lithuania

Abstract

Populations worldwide have been increasingly affected by allergic rhinitis associated with pollen allergens. Alterations in the geographical distribution of pollinating flora resulting from climatic changes and increased production of pollens caused by higher atmospheric CO 2 , have changed the environment in which humans reside. This study, carried out in Lithuania, aimed to demonstrate how people with pollen allergy are affected by symptoms associated with changing pollen loads and to evaluate the resultant changes in human quality of life. This study assessed pollen loads in Lithuania during 2013-2014. Skin prick tests were carried out on 665 individuals aiming to evaluate sensitivity to pollen allergens. Selfreports on symptoms and their impact on quality of life were collected from each study subject. There were 249 to 429 differences in inter-annual peaks of Betula pollen concentrations, while differences of plant pollen concentrations of the other genus/families varied from 1.5 to 92 % on peak days. Positive reactions to pollen allergens were reported in 54 % of the study subjects; 90 % of these subjects had been continuously suffering from moderate-to-severe symptoms of allergic rhinitis. The most frequently reported symptoms were sneezing (99 %), runny nose (98 %) and stuffy nose (97 %). The dominant group of subjects reported symptoms during the entire period of vegetation (7 months). This study demonstrated that people with pollen allergies have attributed symptomassociated worsening of their quality of life to the typical periods of unavoidable exposure and have made only minimal changes in their lifestyle during the season of pollen load.

Pollen sources in the Bojanów forest complex identified on honeybee pollen load by microscopic analysis

“…A high frequency and a dominant percentage of Poaceae pollen in the microscopic slides of bee bread from the Moravian Valley was also found by Warakomska et al [22], whilst Wróblewska [15] and Wróblewska et al [11] observed the same for bee bread from the area of Podlasie and northeastern Poland. This is also confirmed by the reports of Sá-Otero et al [12] from northwestern Spain, by Atanassova and Lazarova [25] from Bulgaria, and by Šauliené et al [13] from Lithuania. These authors very frequently recorded Poaceae pollen in the microscopic image of pollen loads collected from bees.…”

“…In Poland, the interest of bees in collecting oak pollen was confirmed by Wróblewska et al [11], who found Quercus pollen grains in bee bread from the northeastern region of Poland. Sá-Otero et al [12] also demonstrate that Quercus pollen occurred in pollen loads of honeybees in northwestern Spain, whereas Šauliené et al [13] found its presence in pollen loads in Lithuania. Maurizio and Grafl [14] stress that honeybees do not readily visit male inflorescences of Pinus.…”

“…Young and Young [33], Muszyńska and Warakomska [39,40], Beil et al [19], Atanassova and Lazarova [25], and Šauliené et al [13] all found pollen grains from the Asteraceae in both pollen loads and bee bread. Based on an analysis of bee bread, Demianowicz and Warakomska [28] included goldenrod in the main pollen-providing plants in the Vistula Spit area, and its great apicultural importance was confirmed by a study by Strzałkowska [41].…”

The comparison of pollen abundance in air and honey samples

“…In 2013, the pollen season in Lithuania started later than usual [19] and extended from April until September (Fig. 4).…”

Detection and Microscopy of Alnus glutinosa Pollen Fluorescence Peculiarities

“…It is the fourth most abundant tree in Lithuanian forests with an occurrence of around 8.5% [39]. Black alder is one of the earliest flowering plants producing abundant content of allergenic pollen [40].…”