University of California, San Diego, USA.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010 Dec 15;182(12):1475-81. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201002-0296OC. Epub 2010 Jul 23.
Desert dust particles, including quartz, which causes inflammatory responses in the airway in animal studies, are transported to widespread regions around the globe. Epidemiologically, areas impacted by desert dust storms, such as communities in the Middle East and the Caribbean, seem to have higher incidences of asthma than might be expected.
We investigated the magnitude of association between airborne mineral dust concentration and hospitalization of children for asthma exacerbation by using Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) with a polarization analyzer for an exposure measurement, which can distinguish mineral dust particles from other particles.
A case-crossover design was used. The exposure measurement was LIDAR's nonspherical extinction coefficient. The outcome measurement was hospitalization of children aged 1 to 15 years for asthma exacerbation in eight principal hospitals in Toyama, a local area in Japan bordering the Japan Sea, during February to April, 2005 to 2009.
During the study period, there were 620 admissions for asthma exacerbation, and 6 days with a heavy dust event (daily mineral dust concentration > 0.1 mg/m(3)). Conditional logistic regression showed a statistically significant association between asthma hospitalization and a heavy dust event. The crude odds ratio (OR) of the heavy dust event for hospitalization on the day was 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-3.41; P = 0.037), and the OR of heavy dust event during the previous week was 1.83 (95% CI, 1.31-2.56; P = 0.00043). The OR adjusted by other air pollutant levels, pollen, and meteorological factors was 1.71 (95% CI, 1.18-2.48; P = 0.0050).
Heavy dust events are associated with an increased risk of hospitalizations for asthma.
在动物研究中，包括石英在内的沙漠尘埃颗粒会引起气道炎症反应，这些颗粒会被输送到全球广泛的地区。从流行病学的角度来看，受到沙漠尘暴影响的地区，如中东和加勒比地区的社区，似乎比预期的有更高的哮喘发病率。
我们使用带有偏振分析器的光探测和测距 (LIDAR) 进行暴露测量，以调查空气中矿物粉尘浓度与儿童哮喘恶化住院之间的关联程度，这种测量方法可以将矿物尘颗粒与其他颗粒区分开来。
采用病例交叉设计。暴露测量为 LIDAR 的非球形消光系数。结果测量为 2005 年至 2009 年期间，日本海沿岸的日本富山县的八所主要医院中，1 至 15 岁儿童因哮喘恶化而住院的情况。
在研究期间，有 620 例哮喘恶化住院，有 6 天发生重度沙尘事件（每日矿物粉尘浓度>0.1mg/m(3)）。条件逻辑回归显示，哮喘住院与重度沙尘事件之间存在统计学显著关联。重度沙尘事件当天的哮喘住院的粗比值比（OR）为 1.88（95%置信区间[CI]，1.04-3.41；P=0.037），前一周重度沙尘事件的 OR 为 1.83（95%CI，1.31-2.56；P=0.00043）。经其他空气污染物水平、花粉和气象因素调整后的 OR 为 1.71（95%CI，1.18-2.48；P=0.0050）。
重度沙尘事件与哮喘住院风险增加相关。
