Perinatal air pollution exposure and development of asthma from birth to age 10 years

Within-city variation in air pollution has been associated with childhood asthma development, but findings have been inconsistent. We examined whether perinatal air pollution exposure affected asthma onset during “pre-school and “school age” periods in a population-based birth cohort.65 254 children born between 1999 and 2002 in the greater Vancouver metropolitan region were followed until age 10 years using linked administrative health databases. Asthma cases were sex- and age-matched to five randomly chosen controls. Associations between exposure to air pollutants estimated with different methods (interpolation (inverse-distance weighted (IDW)), land use regression, proximity) and incident asthma during the pre-school (0–5 years) and school age (6–10 years) periods were estimated with conditional logistic regression.6948 and 1711 cases were identified during the pre-school and school age periods, respectively. Following adjustment for birthweight, gestational period, household income, parity, breastfeeding at discharge, maternal age and education, asthma risk during the pre-school years was increased by traffic pollution (adjusted odds ratio using IDW method per interquartile increase (95% CI): nitric oxide 1.06 (1.01–1.11), nitrogen dioxide 1.09 (1.04–1.13) and carbon monoxide 1.05 (1.01–1.1)). Enhanced impacts were observed amongst low-term-birthweight cases. Associations were independent of surrounding residential greenness.Within-city air pollution variation was associated with new asthma onset during the pre-school years.

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Association between lung function of school age children and short-term exposure to air pollution and pollen: the PARIS cohort

Thorax ◽

10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215515 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. thoraxjnl-2020-215515

Author(s):

Hélène Amazouz ◽

Nicolas Bougas ◽

Michel Thibaudon ◽

Guillaume Lezmi ◽

Nicole Beydon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Lung Function ◽

School Age Children ◽

School Age ◽

Short Term ◽

Short Term Exposure ◽

Air Pollution Exposure ◽

Total Pollen ◽

Pollution Exposure ◽

Cluster 2

BackgroundDaily levels of ambient air pollution and pollen may affect lung function but have rarely been studied together. We investigated short-term exposure to pollen and air pollution in relation to lung function in school-age children from a French population-based birth cohort.MethodsThis study included 1063 children from the PARIS (Pollution and Asthma Risk: an Infant Study) cohort whose lung function and FeNO measurements were performed at age 8 years old. Exposure data were collected up to 4 days before testing. We estimated daily total pollen concentration, daily allergenic risk indices for nine pollen taxa, as well as daily concentrations of three air pollutants (particulate matter less than 10 µm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3)). Children with similar pollen and air pollution exposure were grouped using multidimensional longitudinal cluster analysis. Associations between clusters of pollen and air pollution exposure and respiratory indices (FEV1, FVC, FeNO) were studied using multivariable linear and logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders.ResultsFour clusters of exposure were identified: no pollen and low air pollution (Cluster 1), grass pollen (Cluster 2), PM10 (Cluster 3) and birch/plane-tree pollen with high total pollen count (Cluster 4). Compared with children in Cluster 1, children in Cluster 2 had significantly lower FEV1 and FVC levels, and children from Cluster 3 had higher FeNO levels. For FEV1 and FVC, the associations appeared stronger in children with current asthma. Additional analysis suggested a joint effect of grass pollen and air pollution on lung function.ConclusionDaily ambient chemical and biological air quality could adversely influence lung function in children.

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