Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2024 May;38(4):359-369. doi: 10.1111/ppe.13065. Epub 2024 Mar 7.
The Children's Assessing Imperial Valley Respiratory Health and the Environment (AIRE) study is a prospective cohort study of environmental influences on respiratory health in a rural, southeastern region of California (CA), which aims to longitudinally examine the contribution of a drying saline lake to adverse health impacts in children.
This cohort was established through a community-academic partnership with the goal of assessing the health effects of childhood exposures to wind-blown particulate matter (PM) and inform public health action. We hypothesize that local PM sources are related to poorer children's respiratory health.
Elementary school children in Imperial Valley, CA.
Prospective cohort study.
Between 2017 and 2019, we collected baseline information on 731 children, then follow-up assessments yearly or twice-yearly since 2019. Data have been collected on children's respiratory health, demographics, household characteristics, physical activity and lifestyle, via questionnaires completed by parents or primary caregivers. In-person measurements, conducted since 2019, repeatedly assessed lung function, height, weight and blood pressure. Exposure to air pollutants has been assessed by multiple methods and individually assigned to participants using residential and school addresses. Health data will be linked to ambient and local sources of PM, during and preceding the study period to understand how spatiotemporal trends in these environmental exposures may relate to respiratory health.
Analyses of respiratory symptoms indicate a high prevalence of allergies, bronchitic symptoms and wheezing. Asthma diagnosis was reported in 24% of children at enrolment, which exceeds both CA state and US national prevalence estimates for children.
The Children's AIRE cohort, while focused on the health impacts of the drying Salton Sea and air quality in Imperial Valley, is poised to elucidate the growing threat of drying saline lakes and wind-blown dust sources to respiratory health worldwide, as sources of wind-blown dust emerge in our changing climate.
儿童评估帝国谷呼吸健康与环境（AIRE）研究是一项对加利福尼亚州东南部农村地区呼吸健康的环境影响的前瞻性队列研究，旨在纵向研究干燥盐水湖对儿童不良健康影响的贡献。
本队列是通过社区-学术合作建立的，目的是评估儿童暴露于风吹尘粒（PM）的健康影响，并为公共卫生行动提供信息。我们假设当地 PM 来源与儿童呼吸健康较差有关。
加利福尼亚州帝国谷的小学生。
前瞻性队列研究。
在 2017 年至 2019 年期间，我们收集了 731 名儿童的基线信息，然后自 2019 年以来每年或每两年进行一次随访评估。通过父母或主要照顾者填写的问卷，收集了儿童的呼吸健康、人口统计学、家庭特征、体育活动和生活方式等数据。自 2019 年以来，进行了现场测量，反复评估了肺功能、身高、体重和血压。通过多种方法评估了空气污染物的暴露情况，并根据居住地址和学校地址将其单独分配给参与者。将研究期间和之前的环境 PM 的大气和本地来源与健康数据相关联，以了解这些环境暴露的时空趋势如何与呼吸健康相关。
对呼吸症状的分析表明，过敏、支气管炎症状和喘息的发病率很高。在入组时，24%的儿童被诊断为哮喘，这超过了加利福尼亚州和美国全国儿童的哮喘患病率估计值。
虽然儿童 AIRE 队列专注于干燥 Salton 海和帝国谷空气质量对健康的影响，但它有望阐明在我们不断变化的气候中，干燥盐水湖和风吹尘源对全球呼吸健康的日益威胁，因为风吹尘源出现在我们的气候中。
