Oliver Pfaar1, Kostas Karatzas2, Katharina Bastl3, Uwe Berger3, Jeroen Buters4,5, Ulf Darsow6, Pascal Demoly7, Stephen R Durham8, Carmen Galán9, Regula Gehrig10, Roy Gerth van Wijk11, Lars Jacobsen12, Nikos Katsifarakis2, Ludger Klimek13, Annika Saarto14, Mikhail Sofiev15, Michel Thibaudon16, Barbora Werchan17, Karl-Christian Bergmann17. 1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Section of Rhinology and Allergy, University Hospital Marburg, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany. 2. Environmental Informatics Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 3. Aerobiology and Pollen Information Research Unit, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 4. ZAUM, Center of Allergy & Environment, Helmholtz Center Munich/Technische Universität München, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Munich, Germany. 5. Kühne Foundation, Christine Kühne -Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Munich, Germany. 6. Department of Dermatology and Allergy Biederstein, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. 7. Departement de Pneumologie et Addictologie, Hôpital Arnaud de Villeneuve, University Hospital of Montpellier, Montpellier, France. 8. Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Imperial College London, London, UK. 9. Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain. 10. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Zurich, Switzerland. 11. Section of Allergology, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 12. ALC, Allergy Learning and Consulting, Copenhagen, Denmark. 13. Center for Rhinology and Allergology, Wiesbaden, Germany. 14. Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. 15. Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland. 16. RNSA-French Aerobiology Network, Brussieu, France. 17. German Pollen Information Service Foundation, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis (AR) depends on the definition of pollen exposure intensity or time period. We recently evaluated pollen and symptom data from Germany to examine the new definitions of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) on pollen season and peak pollen period start and end. Now, we aim to confirm the feasibility of these definitions to properly mirror symptom loads for grass and birch pollen-induced allergic rhinitis in other European geographical areas such as Austria, Finland and France, and therefore their suitability for AIT and clinical practice support. METHODS: Data from twenty-three pollen monitoring stations from three countries in Europe and for 3 years (2014-2016) were used to investigate the correlation between birch and grass pollen concentrations during the birch and grass pollen season defined via the EAACI criteria, and total nasal symptom and medication scores as reported with the aid of the patient's hay-fever diary (PHD). In addition, we conducted a statistical analysis, together with a graphical investigation, to reveal correlations and dependencies between the studied parameters. RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that the definitions of pollen season as well as peak pollen period start and end as proposed by the EAACI are correlated to pollen-induced symptom loads reported by PHD users during birch and grass pollen season. A statistically significant correlation (slightly higher for birch) has been found between the Total Nasal Symptom and Medication Score (TNSMS) and the pollen concentration levels. Moreover, the maximum symptom levels occurred mostly within the peak pollen periods (PPP) following the EAACI criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our analyses, we confirm the validity of the EAACI definitions on pollen season for both birch and grass and for a variety of geographical locations for the four European countries (including Germany from a previous publication) analyzed so far. On this basis, the use of the EAACI definitions is supported in future clinical trials on AIT as well as in daily routine for optimal patient care. Further evaluation of the EAACI criteria in other European regions is recommended.
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis (AR) depends on the definition of pollen exposure intensity or time period. We recently evaluated pollen and symptom data from Germany to examine the new definitions of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) on pollen season and peak pollen period start and end. Now, we aim to confirm the feasibility of these definitions to properly mirror symptom loads for grass and birch pollen-induced allergic rhinitis in other European geographical areas such as Austria, Finland and France, and therefore their suitability for AIT and clinical practice support. METHODS: Data from twenty-three pollen monitoring stations from three countries in Europe and for 3 years (2014-2016) were used to investigate the correlation between birch and grass pollen concentrations during the birch and grass pollen season defined via the EAACI criteria, and total nasal symptom and medication scores as reported with the aid of the patient's hay-fever diary (PHD). In addition, we conducted a statistical analysis, together with a graphical investigation, to reveal correlations and dependencies between the studied parameters. RESULTS: The analysis demonstrated that the definitions of pollen season as well as peak pollen period start and end as proposed by the EAACI are correlated to pollen-induced symptom loads reported by PHD users during birch and grass pollen season. A statistically significant correlation (slightly higher for birch) has been found between the Total Nasal Symptom and Medication Score (TNSMS) and the pollen concentration levels. Moreover, the maximum symptom levels occurred mostly within the peak pollen periods (PPP) following the EAACI criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our analyses, we confirm the validity of the EAACI definitions on pollen season for both birch and grass and for a variety of geographical locations for the four European countries (including Germany from a previous publication) analyzed so far. On this basis, the use of the EAACI definitions is supported in future clinical trials on AIT as well as in daily routine for optimal patient care. Further evaluation of the EAACI criteria in other European regions is recommended.
Authors: Maryam Ali Al-Nesf; Dorra Gharbi; Hassan M Mobayed; Ramzy Mohammed Ali; Amjad Tuffaha; Blessing Reena Dason; Mehdi Adeli; Hisham A Sattar; Maria Del Mar Trigo Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-07-13 Impact factor: 3.752
Authors: Michael S Blaiss; Ruta Gronskyte Juhl; Leonard Q C Siew; Eva Hammerby; Philippe Devillier Journal: Allergy Date: 2022-01-22 Impact factor: 14.710