Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Apr 1;763:143006. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143006. Epub 2020 Oct 20.
Pollen exposure has both acute and chronic detrimental effects on allergic asthma, but little is known about its wider effects on respiratory health. This is increasingly important knowledge as ambient pollen levels are changing with the changing global climate.
To assess associations of pollen exposure with lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) at age 15 in two prospective German birth cohorts, GINIplus and LISA.
Background city-specific pollen exposure was measured in infancy (during the first three months of life), and contemporary (on the day of and 7 days prior to lung function measurement). Greenness levels within circular buffers (100-3000 m) around the birth and 15-year home addresses were calculated using the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Regression models were used to assess the associations of grass and birch pollen with lung function and FeNO, and the modifying effects of residential greenness were explored.
Cumulative early life exposure to grass pollen was associated with reduced lung function in adolescence (FEV: -4.9 mL 95%CI: -9.2, -0.6 and FVC: -5.2 mL 95%CI: -9.8, -0.5 per doubling of pollen count). Acute grass pollen exposure was associated with increased airway inflammation in all children, with higher FeNO increases in children living in green areas. In contrast acute birch pollen exposure was associated with reduced lung function only in children sensitised to birch allergens.
This study provides suggestive evidence that early pollen exposure has a negative effect on later lung function, which is in turn influenced by acute pollen exposures.
花粉暴露对过敏性哮喘既有急性又有慢性的有害影响，但人们对其对呼吸道健康的更广泛影响知之甚少。随着全球气候的变化，环境花粉水平正在发生变化，因此，这方面的知识越来越重要。
在两个前瞻性德国出生队列（GINIplus 和 LISA）中，评估花粉暴露与 15 岁时的肺功能和呼出气一氧化氮分数（FeNO）之间的关联。
在婴儿期（生命的头三个月）测量背景城市特异性花粉暴露，并在肺功能测量当天和前 7 天测量当代花粉暴露。使用卫星衍生的归一化差异植被指数，在出生和 15 岁家庭住址的圆形缓冲区（100-3000 米）内计算绿色水平。使用回归模型评估草和桦树花粉与肺功能和 FeNO 的关联，并探讨住宅绿化的调节作用。
早期生活中接触草花粉的累积量与青春期肺功能下降有关（FEV：-4.9 毫升 95%CI：-9.2，-0.6 和 FVC：-5.2 毫升 95%CI：-9.8，-0.5 每花粉计数增加一倍）。急性草花粉暴露与所有儿童的气道炎症增加有关，在居住在绿化区的儿童中，FeNO 增加更高。相比之下，急性桦树花粉暴露仅与桦树过敏原致敏的儿童的肺功能下降有关。
本研究提供了一些证据表明，早期花粉暴露对以后的肺功能有负面影响，而急性花粉暴露又会影响肺功能。
