respiratory health
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2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-288
Author(s):  
Mohammed Shamssain ◽  
Anisa Alhamadi ◽  
Siba Nezar Al Afandi ◽  
Tasneem Naeem Awadallah ◽  
Shatha Naeem Awadallah

Very few studies have been carried out on asthma and allergies in pre-schoolchildren. This is the first study of pre-school children with asthma and allergies in the United Arab Emirates. We studied 4,000 pre-schoolchildren from the United Arab Emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Al-Ain. The ages of the study group were between 1-5 years, and were 2,000 boys and 2,000 girls; they were randomly selected from kindergartens and nurseries. We used the standardised International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The mean (SD) age, height, weight and BMI were 3.3 (1.4) years, 92.0 (1.3) cm, 17.3 (5.2) kg, and 23.4 (9.3). The prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, “asthma” , “dry night cough”, and “exercise-induced asthma” were 40.4%, 43.8%, 37.6%, 26.5%, 36.1, and 37.6%, respectively. Boys had a significantly higher prevalence of wheeze ever and current wheeze than girls. Girls had a significantly higher prevalence of speech limitation than boys. The prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, “itchy watery eyes” and “hay fever” were 42%, 40.5%, 39.1% and 46.9%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, and “itchy watery eyes” than girls. The prevalence rates of “rash ever”, “current rash” and “eczema ever” were 38.9%, 33.7% and 58.0%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of rash ever, current rash, and eczema ever than girls. Children who were exposed to parental smoking have significantly higher prevalence rates of asthma, wheezing, and cough than those whom were not exposed. Children who breastfed more than 10 months had a significantly lower prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, and “asthma”, than those whom breastfed less than 10 months. The prevalence rates of asthma, rhinitis and eczema were very high. Breastfeeding was found to be protective for asthma. The study can be used as a baseline intervention project to reduce incidents of asthma and allergies in these children and to establish atopic march in order to implement strategies to improve the respiratory health and allergies in these children. Keywords: asthma, wheeze, night cough, rhinitis, eczema, pre-school children, paediatric asthma


PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262057
Author(s):  
Claire A. Woodall ◽  
Luke J. McGeoch ◽  
Alastair D. Hay ◽  
Ashley Hammond

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are extremely common and can cause gastrointestinal tract symptoms and changes to the gut microbiota, yet these effects are poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the reported evidence of gut microbiome alterations in patients with a RTI compared to healthy controls (PROSPERO: CRD42019138853). We systematically searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane and the Clinical Trial Database for studies published between January 2015 and June 2021. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were human cohorts describing the gut microbiome in patients with an RTI compared to healthy controls and the infection was caused by a viral or bacterial pathogen. Dual data screening and extraction with narrative synthesis was performed. We identified 1,593 articles and assessed 11 full texts for inclusion. Included studies (some nested) reported gut microbiome changes in the context of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (n = 5), influenza (H1N1 and H7N9) (n = 2), Tuberculosis (TB) (n = 4), Community-Acquired Pneumonia CAP (n = 2) and recurrent RTIs (rRTI) (n = 1) infections. We found studies of patients with an RTI compared to controls reported a decrease in gut microbiome diversity (Shannon) of 1.45 units (95% CI, 0.15–2.50 [p, <0.0001]) and a lower abundance of taxa (p, 0.0086). Meta-analysis of the Shannon value showed considerable heterogeneity between studies (I2, 94.42). Unbiased analysis displayed as a funnel plot revealed a depletion of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae and Ruminococcus and enrichment of Enterococcus. There was an important absence in the lack of cohort studies reporting gut microbiome changes and high heterogeneity between studies may be explained by variations in microbiome methods and confounder effects. Further human cohort studies are needed to understand RTI-induced gut microbiome changes to better understand interplay between microbes and respiratory health.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kadi J. Horn ◽  
Alexander C. Jaberi Vivar ◽  
Vera Arenas ◽  
Sameer Andani ◽  
Edward N. Janoff ◽  
...  

The stability and composition of the airway microbiome is an important determinant of respiratory health. Some airway bacteria are considered to be beneficial due to their potential to impede the acquisition and persistence of opportunistic bacterial pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Among such organisms, the presence of Corynebacterium species correlates with reduced S. pneumoniae in both adults and children, in whom Corynebacterium abundance is predictive of S. pneumoniae infection risk. Previously, Corynebacterium accolens was shown to express a lipase which cleaves host lipids, resulting in the production of fatty acids that inhibit growth of S. pneumoniae in vitro. However, it was unclear whether this mechanism contributes to Corynebacterium-S. pneumoniae interactions in vivo. To address this question, we developed a mouse model for Corynebacterium colonization in which colonization with either C. accolens or another species, Corynebacterium amycolatum, significantly reduced S. pneumoniae acquisition in the upper airway and infection in the lung. Moreover, the lungs of co-infected mice had reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory myeloid cells, indicating resolution of infection-associated inflammation. The inhibitory effect of C. accolens on S. pneumoniae in vivo was mediated by lipase-dependent and independent effects, indicating that both this and other bacterial factors contribute to Corynebacterium-mediated protection in the airway. We also identified a previously uncharacterized bacterial lipase in C. amycolatum that is required for inhibition of S. pneumoniae growth in vitro. Together, these findings demonstrate the protective potential of airway Corynebacterium species and establish a new model for investigating the impact of commensal microbiota, such as Corynebacterium, on maintaining respiratory health.


Thorax ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. thoraxjnl-2021-217041
Author(s):  
Talat Islam ◽  
Jessica Braymiller ◽  
Sandrah P Eckel ◽  
Feifei Liu ◽  
Alayna P Tackett ◽  
...  

RationaleDespite high prevalence of e-cigarette use (vaping), little is currently known regarding the health effects of secondhand nicotine vape exposure.ObjectiveTo investigate whether exposure to secondhand nicotine vape exposure is associated with adverse respiratory health symptoms among young adults.MethodWe investigated the effect of secondhand nicotine vape exposure on annually reported wheeze, bronchitic symptoms and shortness of breath in the prospective Southern California Children Health Study cohort. Data were collected from study participants (n=2097) with repeated annual surveys from 2014 (average age: 17.3 years) to 2019 (average age: 21.9). We used mixed effect logistic regression to evaluate the association between secondhand nicotine vape and respiratory symptoms after controlling for relevant confounders.ResultsPrevalence of secondhand nicotine vape increased from 11.7% to 15.6% during the study period in this population. Prevalence of wheeze, bronchitic symptoms and shortness of breath ranged from 12.3% to 14.9%, 19.4% to 26.0% and 16.5% to 18.1%, respectively, during the study period. Associations of secondhand nicotine vape exposure with bronchitic symptoms (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.84) and shortness of breath (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.21) were observed after controlling for vaping, active and passive exposure to tobacco or cannabis, and demographic characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity and parental education). Stronger associations were observed when analysis was restricted to participants who were neither smokers nor vapers. There were no associations with wheezing after adjustment for confounders.ConclusionSecondhand nicotine vape exposure was associated with increased risk of bronchitic symptoms and shortness of breath among young adults.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eija Könönen ◽  
Ulvi K. Gursoy

Prevotella is recognized as one of the core anaerobic genera in the oral microbiome. In addition, members of this genus belong to microbial communities of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Several novel Prevotella species, most of them of oral origin, have been described, but limited knowledge is still available of their clinical relevance. Prevotella melaninogenica is among the anaerobic commensals on oral mucosae from early months of life onward, and other early colonizing Prevotella species in the oral cavity include Prevotella nigrescens and Prevotella pallens. Oral Prevotella species get constant access to the gastrointestinal tract via saliva swallowing and to lower airways via microaspiration. At these extra-oral sites, they play a role as commensals but also as potentially harmful agents on mucosal surfaces. The aim of this narrative review is to give an updated overview on the involvement of oral Prevotella species in gastrointestinal and respiratory health and disease.


2022 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 107023
Author(s):  
Laura A. Gladson ◽  
Kevin R. Cromar ◽  
Marya Ghazipura ◽  
K. Emma Knowland ◽  
Christoph A. Keller ◽  
...  

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Rebecca Ciciretti ◽  
Francisco Barraza ◽  
Francisco De la Barrera ◽  
Lorna Urquieta ◽  
Sandra Cortes

Wildfire causes multiple problems for people living in cities. One of them is the deterioration of air quality as a result of wildfire smoke. This smoke can consequently have effects on human health. The present study aims to characterize the relationship between the occurrence of wildfires in central Chile and the effects on children’s respiratory health. Public databases provided the number of emergency care visits, wildfires, and concentration of air pollutants, demographics and meteorological variables for the regions of Santiago and Valparaiso from 2010 to 2013. Time series analysis was used monthly on health care visits to determine the relative health risk in children when in the presence of additional wildfires. Significant health risks were observed in Santiago for children younger than 1-year-old of bronchitis (RR 1.007, CI 95% 1.007–1.008; chronic lower respiratory diseases (RR 1.012, CI 95% 1.012–1.013); and pneumonia (RR 1.026 CI 95% 1.026–1.027) and in children aged one to four years old (RR 1.016 CI 95% 1.015–1.016). A dose-response relationship was also observed for pneumonia, showing that it affects younger children particularly when there is an increase in the number of wildfires. In the Region of Valparaíso, wildfires did not significantly change the risk of respiratory illness, this could be due to favorable ventilation. Currently, Santiago has an urgent need for monitoring and the evaluation of the damage to children’s respiratory health, along with the development of comprehensive prevention strategies.


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