Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2012 Jul;28(7 Suppl):S28-36. doi: 10.1016/j.kjms.2012.05.007. Epub 2012 Jul 12.
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway, characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness. It is a disabling disease with an increasing prevalence, resulting in heavy social and economic burdens worldwide. Humans are extensively exposed to phthalates, and many epidemiological studies have shown a relationship between phthalate exposure and asthma in recent decades. Earlier experimental studies focused on inflammatory cells, demonstrating the adjuvant effects, immunomodulatory effects, or immunosuppressive effects related to phthalate exposure. Recent studies have shown that phthalates may have a direct effect on airway epithelial cells and contribute to airway remodeling, which is the cardinal pathologic characteristic of chronic asthma, with a high correlation with disease severity. Through these efforts, phthalates have been recognized as important environmental factors in the pathogenesis of asthma, but further studies are still required to elucidate the detailed mechanism. This review discusses the current status of human exposure to phthalates in Taiwan and summarizes the epidemiological and experimental evidence related to the roles of phthalate exposure in the development of asthma and associated diseases.
哮喘是一种气道的慢性炎症性疾病，其特征为气道高反应性。它是一种致残性疾病，患病率不断增加，在全球范围内造成了沉重的社会和经济负担。人类广泛接触邻苯二甲酸酯，在过去几十年的许多流行病学研究中都表明了邻苯二甲酸酯暴露与哮喘之间存在关联。早期的实验研究集中在炎症细胞上，证明了邻苯二甲酸酯暴露具有佐剂作用、免疫调节作用或免疫抑制作用。最近的研究表明，邻苯二甲酸酯可能对气道上皮细胞有直接影响，并导致气道重塑，这是慢性哮喘的主要病理特征，与疾病严重程度高度相关。通过这些努力，邻苯二甲酸酯已被认为是哮喘发病机制中的重要环境因素，但仍需要进一步研究以阐明其详细机制。本综述讨论了台湾地区人类邻苯二甲酸酯暴露的现状，并总结了流行病学和实验证据，这些证据与邻苯二甲酸酯暴露在哮喘及相关疾病发展中的作用有关。
