Air pollution and recent simptoms

Air Pollution and Recent Symptoms of Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, and Atopic Eczema in Schoolchildren Aged Between 6 and 7 Years Alberto Arnedo-Penaa; Luis García-Marcosb; Ignacio Carvajal Urueñac; Rosa Busquets Monged; María Morales Suárez-Varelae; Izaskun Miner Canflancaf; José Batlles Garridog; Alfredo Blanco Quirósh; Ángel López-Silvarrey Varelai; Gloria García Hernándezj; Inés AguinagaOntosok; Carlos González Díazl a Sección de Epidemiología, Centro de Salud Pública, Castellón, Spain
b Unidades de Neumología y de Alergia Pediátrica, Hospital Infantil Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Murcia, Spain
c Centro de Salud La Ería, Servicio de Salud del Principado de Asturias, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
d Departamento de Pediatría, Hospitaldel Mar, Barcelona, Spain
e Unidad de Salud Pública y Medio Ambiente, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Universidad de Valencia, CIBER CB06/02/0045, CIBER Actions-Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Fundación para la Investigación, Grupo de investigación, Hospital Universitario Dr. Peset, Valencia, Spain
f Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Donostia, San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, Spain
g Unidad deNeumología Infantil, Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Torrecárdenas, Almería, Spain
h Departamento de Pediatría, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
i Fundación María José Jove, La Coruña, Spain
j Unidad de Neumología y Alergia Pediátrica, Hospital Infantil 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain
k Departamento de Epidemiología, Ayuntamiento de Pamplona, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
l Departamentode Pediatría, Hospital de Basurto, Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain
Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between air pollutants and the prevalence of recent symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic eczema in schoolchildren aged between 6 and 7 years. Patients and Methods: The prevalence of recent (previous 12 months) symptoms of allergic diseases was obtained bymeans of the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), Spain, with the participation of 7 centers (Asturias, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, La Coruña, Madrid, and Valencia) and 20 455 schoolchildren aged between 6 and 7 years, from 2002 to 2003. The pollutant detection systems of the aforementioned centers provided the mean annual concentrations ofsulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and total suspended particulate matter. Results: The annual average concentration of SO2 showed a significant association with a higher prevalence of recent severe asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] between level-1 and level-3 pollution, 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.73), rhinitis (aOR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.39-1.75), andrhinoconjunctivitis (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.45-2.00). The annual average concentration of CO was associated with a higher prevalence of rhinitis (aOR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.34-2.04), rhinoconjunctivitis (aOR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.31-2.37), and eczema (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.17-2.04). The annual average concentration for NO2 and total suspended particulate matter showed inverse associations with the prevalence ofnocturnal dry cough. Conclusions: Findings suggest that air pollutants such as SO2 and CO increase the risk of recent symptoms of asthma and allergic rhinitis in schoolchildren aged between 6 and 7 years in Spain.Keywords: Asthma. Air pollution. Sulfur dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide. Atopic eczema. Schoolchildren. Allergic rhinitis Introduction The effect of air pollution on allergic diseases is thesubject of debate. Some researchers consider it to be responsible for the observed increase in these diseases in the pediatric population of developed countries, whereas others believe its effect to be slight.1,2 Epidemiologic research on air pollution as a potential risk factor for allergic diseases has increased in recent years despite the considerable methodological difficulties involved. These...