Kuo-Tung Tang1, Kai-Chen Ku2, Der-Yuan Chen3, Ching-Heng Lin4, Ben-Jei Tsuang2, Yi-Hsing Chen5. 1. Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; PhD Program in Translational Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. 2. Department of Environmental Engineering, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. 3. Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Institute of Biomedical Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. 4. Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. 5. Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: ysanne@vghtc.gov.tw.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a trend toward an increased worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases. It is speculated that industrialization with resultant air pollution plays a role. However, there are sparse epidemiologic data on the relation between air pollution and atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between exposure to air pollutants and adult AD in a cross-sectional study based on data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. METHODS: We identified 1,023 adult patients with AD and 4,092 age- and sex-matched controls without allergic diseases in 2011. Using data from 71 Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations across Taiwan, levels of exposure to air pollutants were determined by the location of a subject's place of residence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, levels of urbanization, and family income, was performed. RESULTS: We found an association between particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter or the Pollutant Standards Index (the highest sub-index of the concentrations of 5 main air pollutants after transformation) and the development of adult AD. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.05 (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.08) and 1.02 (95% confidence interval 1.01-1.03), respectively. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that air pollution, represented by particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter or the Pollutant Standards Index, was modestly associated with the development of AD in adults.
BACKGROUND: There is a trend toward an increased worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases. It is speculated that industrialization with resultant air pollution plays a role. However, there are sparse epidemiologic data on the relation between air pollution and atopic dermatitis (AD) in adults. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between exposure to air pollutants and adult AD in a cross-sectional study based on data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. METHODS: We identified 1,023 adult patients with AD and 4,092 age- and sex-matched controls without allergic diseases in 2011. Using data from 71 Environmental Protection Agency monitoring stations across Taiwan, levels of exposure to air pollutants were determined by the location of a subject's place of residence. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, levels of urbanization, and family income, was performed. RESULTS: We found an association between particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter or the Pollutant Standards Index (the highest sub-index of the concentrations of 5 main air pollutants after transformation) and the development of adult AD. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.05 (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.08) and 1.02 (95% confidence interval 1.01-1.03), respectively. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that air pollution, represented by particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter or the Pollutant Standards Index, was modestly associated with the development of AD in adults.
Authors: Debajyoti Ghosh; Jonathan A Bernstein; Gurjit K Khurana Hershey; Marc E Rothenberg; Tesfaye B Mersha Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2018-12-12 Impact factor: 7.561
Authors: Shu-E Soh; Anne Goh; Oon Hoe Teoh; Keith M Godfrey; Peter D Gluckman; Lynette Pei-Chi Shek; Yap-Seng Chong Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2018-05-15 Impact factor: 3.390