Lee Y L, Shaw C K, Su H J, Lai J S, Ko Y C, Huang S L, Sung F C, Guo Y L
Dept of Environmental and Occupational Health, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Eur Respir J. 2003 Jun;21(6):964-70. doi: 10.1183/09031936.03.00094602.
The prevalence of allergic rhinitis, a common respiratory disorder, may be rapidly increasing. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate little about its association with climatic factors and air pollution. The relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and allergic rhinitis in middle-school students was therefore investigated. In a nationwide survey of middle-school students in Taiwan conducted in 1995/1996, the lifetime prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis and typical symptoms of allergic rhinitis were compared with air-monitoring station data on temperature, relative humidity, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 10 microm (PM10). A total of 331,686 nonsmoking children attended schools located within 2 km of 55 stations. Mean (range) annual exposures were: CO 853 (381-1,610) parts per billion (ppb), NOx 35.1 (10.2-72.4) ppb, SO2 7.57 (0.88-21.2) ppb, PM10 69.2 (40.1-116.2) microg x m(-3), O3 21.3 (12.4-34.1) ppb, temperature 22.9 (19.6-25.1) degrees C, and relative humidity 76.2 (64.8-86.2)%. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was 28.6 and 19.5% in males and females, respectively, with prevalence of questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis 42.4 and 34.0%. After adjustment for age, parental education and history of atopic eczema, physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis was found to be associated with higher nonsummer (September-May) warmth and traffic-related air pollutants, including CO, NOx and O3. Questionnaire-determined allergic rhinitis correlated only with traffic-related air pollutants. Nonsummer warmth and traffic-related air pollution, probably mediated through exposure to common allergens such as dust mites, are possible risk factors for allergic rhinitis in middle-school-aged children.
变应性鼻炎是一种常见的呼吸道疾病，其患病率可能正在迅速上升。然而，流行病学研究几乎没有表明其与气候因素和空气污染之间的关联。因此，对中学生中与交通相关的空气污染物和变应性鼻炎之间的关系进行了调查。在1995/1996年对台湾中学生进行的一项全国性调查中，将医生诊断的变应性鼻炎的终生患病率和变应性鼻炎的典型症状与空气监测站关于温度、相对湿度、二氧化硫（SO2）、氮氧化物（NOx）、臭氧（O3）、一氧化碳（CO）以及空气动力学直径50%截止值为10微米的颗粒物（PM10）的数据进行了比较。共有331,686名不吸烟儿童就读于距离55个监测站2公里范围内的学校。年平均（范围）暴露量为：CO 853（381 - 1,610）十亿分之一（ppb），NOx 35.1（10.2 - 72.4）ppb，SO2 7.57（0.88 - 21.2）ppb，PM10 69.2（40.1 - 116.2）微克×立方米（-3），O3 21.3（12.4 - 34.1）ppb，温度22.9（19.6 - 25.1）摄氏度，相对湿度76.2（64.8 - 86.2）%。医生诊断的变应性鼻炎患病率在男性和女性中分别为28.6%和19.5%，问卷确定的变应性鼻炎患病率分别为42.4%和34.0%。在对年龄、父母教育程度和特应性湿疹病史进行调整后，发现医生诊断的变应性鼻炎与非夏季（9月至次年5月）的温暖以及与交通相关的空气污染物有关，包括CO、NOx和O3。问卷确定的变应性鼻炎仅与与交通相关的空气污染物相关。非夏季的温暖和与交通相关的空气污染，可能是通过接触常见过敏原如尘螨介导的，是中学生变应性鼻炎的可能危险因素。
