1 - Immunoallergy Department,Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central, EPE, Hospital de Dona Estefânia, Lisbon, Portugal,
2 - CEDOC, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal,
3 - Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central, EPE, Gabinete de Apoio Estatístico e Epidemiológico, Lisbon, Portugal,
4 - Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clínica
- Comunicação oral
- European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Congress 2014, 7-11 Junho, Copenhaga, Dinamarca. Reunião Internacional;
- Publicação sob forma de resumo na Revista Allergy: Pollen concentrations and emergency department visits for asthma and wheeze in Lisbon J Belo, P Carreiro-Martins, AL Papoila, C Geraldes, M Paiva, E Caeiro, … ALLERGY 69, 16-16
Resumo:
Background: Previous studies reported associations between aeroallergen exposure and asthma exacerbations. However, the specific pollens implicated have not been consistent across studies, which may be partially attributable to geographic differences. Objectives: To investigate the short-term effects of airborne pollen counts on emergency department (ED) visits for asthma and wheeze in Lisbon area, from March to September, in the years 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, for children aged 6-17 years.
Methods: Counts were available for common pollens (Betulaceae, Cupressaceae, Parietaria, Pinus, Poaceae, Quercus, Olea, Chenopodium, Plantago and Compositae). Daily data on ED visits for asthma attacks and wheeze were obtained from Hospital Dona Estefânia (the main Pediatric Hospital in Lisbon) by a systematic random sampling. Short-term effects of pollen counts were assessed using distributed non-linear lag models in order to study the relationship between pollen counts and respiratory events at different times after the exposure.
Results: Daily data from 856 days were analyzed. After adjustment for metereological variables and day of the week, a short-term association was observed between Parietaria, Pinus and Cupressaceae pollen counts and ED visits for asthma and wheeze. These associations tended to be of the highest magnitude for Parietaria (RR= 1.06; 1.01-1.11; p=0.015) and Pinus (RR= 1.08; 1.01-1.16; p=0.022) on the third following day and for Cupressaceae (RR= 1.03; 1.01-1.05; p=0.001) on the first following day (RR calculated for 10 grains/m3 increments).
Conclusion: Parietaria, Pinus and Cupressaceae pollens presented a time lag effect on ED visits for asthma and wheeze in Lisbon. These findings need to be confirmed by future studies that consider also respiratory infections.
Palavras Chave: pollen concentration, wheeze, asthma