Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Medical Center East, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Nerima West Eye Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Health Science, Oita University of Nursing and Health Science, Oita, Japan.
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Jul 15;487:493-9. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.04.057. Epub 2014 May 4.
Exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) is associated with asthma and respiratory symptoms, but little is known about the influence of PM2.5 on allergic conjunctivitis. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of PM2.5 with outpatient attendance for allergic conjunctivitis.
We conducted a time-series analysis of the association between outpatient attendance for allergic conjunctivitis and PM2.5 levels from May to July (non-pollen season) and from August to October (the autumnal pollen season) in 2012. Air pollution data (including the levels of PM2.5, oxidants, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, methane, non-methane hydrocarbons, and total hydrocarbons) and data on the daily weather conditions (temperature, wind speed, and humidity) were collected at a centrally located monitoring station in Tokyo. We calculated weekly average values for the daily number of outpatient visits, as well as the air pollution and weather data, and used the weekly average values for analysis.
There was a significant association between the number of outpatient visits for allergic conjunctivitis and the PM2.5 level (r=0.62, p=0.0177) from May to July, while no correlation was found between the number of outpatient visits and any variable assessed from August to November. Multivariate analysis also showed that PM2.5 was a significant predictor of the number of outpatient visits from May to July (odds ratio=9.05, p=0.0463), while there were no significant predictors of the number of outpatient visits from August to October. From May to July, PM2.5 showed a negative correlation with humidity (r=-0.53, p=0.0499).
These findings suggest a possible role of PM2.5 in the development of allergic conjunctivitis during the non-pollen season. This association between PM2.5 and allergic conjunctivitis may have broad public health implications in relation to allergic diseases.
小于 2.5 微米的颗粒物（PM2.5）暴露与哮喘和呼吸道症状有关，但对于 PM2.5 对过敏性结膜炎的影响知之甚少。本研究的目的是研究 PM2.5 与过敏性结膜炎门诊就诊之间的关联。
我们对 2012 年 5 月至 7 月（非花粉季节）和 8 月至 10 月（秋季花粉季节）期间，过敏性结膜炎门诊就诊与 PM2.5 水平之间的关联进行了时间序列分析。空气污染数据（包括 PM2.5、氧化剂、一氧化氮、二氧化氮、氮氧化物、一氧化碳、甲烷、非甲烷烃和总烃）和每日天气条件（温度、风速和湿度）数据在东京的一个中央监测站收集。我们计算了每日门诊就诊人数以及空气污染和天气数据的每周平均值，并使用每周平均值进行分析。
过敏性结膜炎门诊就诊人数与 5 月至 7 月的 PM2.5 水平呈显著正相关（r=0.62，p=0.0177），而 8 月至 11 月的门诊就诊人数与任何变量之间均无相关性。多变量分析还表明，PM2.5 是 5 月至 7 月门诊就诊人数的重要预测指标（优势比=9.05，p=0.0463），而 8 月至 10 月的门诊就诊人数则无显著预测指标。5 月至 7 月，PM2.5 与湿度呈负相关（r=-0.53，p=0.0499）。
这些发现表明，PM2.5 可能在非花粉季节过敏性结膜炎的发生中发挥作用。PM2.5 与过敏性结膜炎之间的这种关联可能对与过敏相关的疾病具有广泛的公共卫生意义。
