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Climate, traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis prevalence in middle-school children in Taiwan.
Eur Respir J. 2003 Jun; 21(6):964-70.ER

Abstract

The prevalence of allergic rhinitis, a common respiratory disorder, may be rapidly increasing. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate little about its association with climatic factors and air pollution. The relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis in middle-school students was therefore investigated. In a nationwide survey of middle-school students in Taiwan conducted in 1995/1996, the lifetime prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis and typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis were compared with air-monitoring station data on temperature, relative humidity, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm (PM10). A total of 331,686 nonsmoking children attended schools located within 2 km of 55 stations. Mean (range) annual exposures were: CO 853 (381-1,610) parts per billion (ppb), NOx 35.1 (10.2-72.4) ppb, SO2 7.57 (0.88-21.2) ppb, PM10 69.2 (40.1-116.2) microg x m(-3), O3 21.3 (12.4-34.1) ppb, temperature 22.9 (19.6-25.1) degrees C, and relative humidity 76.2 (64.8-86.2)%. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was 28.6 and 19.5% in males and females, respectively, with prevalence of questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis 42.4 and 34.0%. After adjustment for age, parental education and history of atopic eczema, physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was found to be associated with higher nonsummer (September-May) warmth and traffic-related air pollutants, including CO, NOx and O3. Questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis correlated only with traffic-related air pollutants. Nonsummer warmth and traffic-related air pollution, probably mediated through exposure to common allergens such as dust mites, are possible risk factors for allergic rhinitis in middle-school-aged children.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Lee YL
Dept of Environmental and Occupational Health, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Shaw CK
No affiliation info available
Su HJ
No affiliation info available
Lai JS
No affiliation info available
Ko YC
No affiliation info available
Huang SL
No affiliation info available
Sung FC
No affiliation info available
Guo YL
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdolescentAge FactorsAir PollutantsChildClimateFemaleHealth Care SurveysHumansMaleMotor VehiclesPrevalenceRhinitis, Allergic, PerennialSeasonsTaiwanVehicle Emissions

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

12797489

Citation

Lee, Y L., et al. "Climate, Traffic-related Air Pollutants and Allergic Rhinitis Prevalence in Middle-school Children in Taiwan." The European Respiratory Journal, vol. 21, no. 6, 2003, pp. 964-70.
Lee YL, Shaw CK, Su HJ, et al. Climate, traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis prevalence in middle-school children in Taiwan. Eur Respir J. 2003;21(6):964-70.
Lee, Y. L., Shaw, C. K., Su, H. J., Lai, J. S., Ko, Y. C., Huang, S. L., Sung, F. C., & Guo, Y. L. (2003). Climate, traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis prevalence in middle-school children in Taiwan. The European Respiratory Journal, 21(6), 964-70.
Lee YL, et al. Climate, Traffic-related Air Pollutants and Allergic Rhinitis Prevalence in Middle-school Children in Taiwan. Eur Respir J. 2003;21(6):964-70. PubMed PMID: 12797489.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Climate, traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis prevalence in middle-school children in Taiwan. AU - Lee,Y L, AU - Shaw,C K, AU - Su,H J, AU - Lai,J S, AU - Ko,Y C, AU - Huang,S L, AU - Sung,F C, AU - Guo,Y L, PY - 2003/6/12/pubmed PY - 2003/10/4/medline PY - 2003/6/12/entrez SP - 964 EP - 70 JF - The European respiratory journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 21 IS - 6 N2 - The prevalence of allergic rhinitis, a common respiratory disorder, may be rapidly increasing. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate little about its association with climatic factors and air pollution. The relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis in middle-school students was therefore investigated. In a nationwide survey of middle-school students in Taiwan conducted in 1995/1996, the lifetime prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis and typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis were compared with air-monitoring station data on temperature, relative humidity, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm (PM10). A total of 331,686 nonsmoking children attended schools located within 2 km of 55 stations. Mean (range) annual exposures were: CO 853 (381-1,610) parts per billion (ppb), NOx 35.1 (10.2-72.4) ppb, SO2 7.57 (0.88-21.2) ppb, PM10 69.2 (40.1-116.2) microg x m(-3), O3 21.3 (12.4-34.1) ppb, temperature 22.9 (19.6-25.1) degrees C, and relative humidity 76.2 (64.8-86.2)%. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was 28.6 and 19.5% in males and females, respectively, with prevalence of questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis 42.4 and 34.0%. After adjustment for age, parental education and history of atopic eczema, physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was found to be associated with higher nonsummer (September-May) warmth and traffic-related air pollutants, including CO, NOx and O3. Questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis correlated only with traffic-related air pollutants. Nonsummer warmth and traffic-related air pollution, probably mediated through exposure to common allergens such as dust mites, are possible risk factors for allergic rhinitis in middle-school-aged children. SN - 0903-1936 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/12797489/Climate_traffic_related_air_pollutants_and_allergic_rhinitis_prevalence_in_middle_school_children_in_Taiwan_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -