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Associations between air pollution and outpatient visits for allergic rhinitis in Xinxiang, China

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Abstract

Several epidemiological studies have investigated the adverse health effects of air pollution, but studies reporting its effects on allergic rhinitis (AR) are limited, especially in developing countries having the most severe pollution. Limited studies have been conducted in China, but their results were inconsistent. So, we conducted a time-series study to evaluate the acute effect of six air pollutants (fine particulate matter [PM2.5], particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm [PM10], sulfur dioxide [SO2], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], ozone [O3], and carbon monoxide [CO]) on hospital outpatient visits for AR in Xinxiang, China from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018. An over-dispersed Poisson generalized additive model adjusting for weather conditions, long-term trends, and day of the week was used. In total, 14,965 AR outpatient records were collected during the study period. Results found that each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO corresponded to 0.70% (95% confidence interval 0.00–1.41%), 0.79% (0.35–1.23%), 3.43% (1.47–5.39%), 4.54% (3.01–6.08%), 0.97% (− 0.11–2.05%), and 0.07% (0.02–0.12%) increments in AR outpatients on the current day, respectively. In the stratification analyses, statistically stronger associations were observed with PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO for AR outpatients < 15 years of age than in those 15–65 and ≥ 65 years of age, whereas the opposite result was found with O3. Associations between PM10, SO2, NO2, O3, and AR outpatients were higher in the warm season than those in the cool season. This study suggests that exposure to PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO was associated with increased AR risk and children younger than 15 years might be more vulnerable.

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Abbreviations

AR:

Allergic rhinitis

PM2.5 :

Fine particulate matter

PM10 :

Particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm

SO2 :

Sulfur dioxide

NO2 :

Nitrogen dioxide

O3 :

Ozone

CO:

Carbon monoxide

GAM:

Generalized additive model

df:

Degrees of freedom

IgE:

Immunoglobulin E

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the PhD Research Project of Xinxiang Medical University (XYBSKYZZ201804), Key Scientific Research Projects in Universities of Henan (19B330004) and Peak Subject Project of Public Health in Xinxiang Medical University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Jingyao Wang, Mengxue Lu, Zhen An, Jing Jiang, Juan Li, Yinbiao Wang, Weidong Wu & Jie Song

  2. Henan International Collaborative Laboratory for Air Pollution Health Effects and Intervention, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Zhen An, Jing Jiang, Juan Li, Weidong Wu & Jie Song

  3. Xinxiang First People’s Hospital, Xinxiang, 453000, China

    Shuang Du & Haofeng Zhou

  4. Xinxiang Second People’s Hospital, Xinxiang, 453002, China

    Xuexing Zhang

  5. Third Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Juan Cui

  6. National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100021, China

    Yue Liu

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  1. Jingyao Wang
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  2. Mengxue Lu
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Wang, J., Lu, M., An, Z. et al. Associations between air pollution and outpatient visits for allergic rhinitis in Xinxiang, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 23565–23574 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08709-0

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