Long-term exposures to air pollutants affect FeNO in children: a longitudinal study

Talk to any allergy sufferer and they will tell you how awful it can be. Runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and difficulties breathing. For many these symptoms rise only to the level of annoyance and can be avoided by steering clear of the source of their allergy. What many people don't realise though is that allergies can become a far more serious issue for a large segment of the population. Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing due to allergies bring many people to emergency rooms and these are just the acute symptoms. Along with the potential for an allergic attack during a windy or dusty day, researchers and medical professionals are beginning to recognise that there are chronic, long term effects associated with allergies. In order to mitigate both the acute and chronic effects of allergies a better understanding of how genetic factors combine with environmental conditions to produce the ranges of symptoms and effects of allergy suffers is needed. Professor Tomomi Higashi, from the Department of Hygiene at Kanazawa University in Japan, is an expert in this field and is currently working to improve treatment and prevention of allergic disease.

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Occasional and persistent frequent attenders and sickness absences in occupational health primary care: a longitudinal study in Finland

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024980 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. e024980 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tiia T M Reho ◽

Salla A Atkins ◽

Nina Talola ◽

Markku P T Sumanen ◽

Mervi Viljamaa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Sick Leave ◽

Diagnostic Codes ◽

Frequent Attenders ◽

Frequent Attendance ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Working Age

ObjectivesFrequent attenders (FAs) create a substantial portion of primary care workload but little is known about FAs’ sickness absences. The aim of the study is to investigate how occasional and persistent frequent attendance is associated with sickness absences among the working population in occupational health (OH) primary care.Setting and participantsThis is a longitudinal study using medical record data (2014–2016) from an OH care provider in Finland. In total, 59 676 patients were included and categorised into occasional and persistent FAs or non-FAs. Sick-leave episodes and their lengths were collected along with associated diagnostic codes. Logistic regression was used to analyse associations between FA status and sick leaves of different lengths (1–3, 4–14 and ≥15 days).ResultsBoth occasional and persistent FA had more and longer duration of sick leave than non-FA through the study years. Persistent FAs had consistently high absence rates. Occasional FAs had elevated absence rates even 2 years after their frequent attendance period. Persistent FAs (OR=11 95% CI 7.54 to 16.06 in 2016) and occasional FAs (OR=2.95 95% CI 2.50 to 3.49 in 2016) were associated with long (≥15 days) sickness absence when compared with non-FAs. Both groups of FAs had an increased risk of long-term sick leaves indicating a risk of disability pension.ConclusionBoth occasional and persistent FAs should be identified in primary care units caring for working-age patients. As frequent attendance is associated with long sickness absences and possibly disability pensions, rehabilitation should be directed at this group to prevent work disability.

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Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 is Associated with Long-term Clinical Outcome in Patients with COVID-19: a Longitudinal Study

Journal of Clinical Immunology ◽

10.1007/s10875-021-01083-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Javier García-Abellán ◽

Sergio Padilla ◽

Marta Fernández-González ◽

José A. García ◽

Vanesa Agulló ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Clinical Outcome ◽

Antibody Response

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Long-Term Exposure to Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Rate in Chile during 2020

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18147409 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 7409

Author(s):

Macarena Valdés Salgado ◽

Pamela Smith ◽

Mariel Opazo ◽

Nicolás Huneeus

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Incidence Rate ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Transport Model ◽

Surface Concentration ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Incidence And Mortality ◽

Pm2.5 And Pm10

Background: Several countries have documented the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollutants and epidemiological indicators of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as incidence and mortality. This study aims to explore the association between air pollutants, such as PM2.5 and PM10, and the incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19 during 2020. Methods: The incidence and mortality rates were estimated using the COVID-19 cases and deaths from the Chilean Ministry of Science, and the population size was obtained from the Chilean Institute of Statistics. A chemistry transport model was used to estimate the annual mean surface concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 in a period before the current pandemic. Negative binomial regressions were used to associate the epidemiological information with pollutant concentrations while considering demographic and social confounders. Results: For each microgram per cubic meter, the incidence rate increased by 1.3% regarding PM2.5 and 0.9% regarding PM10. There was no statistically significant relationship between the COVID-19 mortality rate and PM2.5 or PM10. Conclusions: The adjusted regression models showed that the COVID-19 incidence rate was significantly associated with chronic exposure to PM2.5 and PM10, even after adjusting for other variables.

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