A Review of the Respiratory Health Burden Attributable to Short-Term Exposure to Pollen

Nur Sabrina Idrose, Caroline J. Lodge, Bircan Erbas, Jo A. Douglass, Dinh S. Bui and Shyamali C. Dharmage
Additional contact information
Nur Sabrina Idrose: Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
Caroline J. Lodge: Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
Bircan Erbas: School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia
Jo A. Douglass: Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC 3050, Australia
Dinh S. Bui: Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia
Shyamali C. Dharmage: Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3053, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Respiratory diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affect millions worldwide and pose a significant global public health burden. Over the years, changes in land use and climate have increased pollen quantity, allergenicity and duration of the pollen season, thus increasing its impact on respiratory disease. Many studies have investigated the associations between short-term ambient pollen (i.e., within days or weeks of exposure) and respiratory outcomes. Here, we reviewed the current evidence on the association between short-term outdoor pollen exposure and thunderstorm asthma (TA), asthma and COPD hospital presentations, general practice (GP) consultations, self-reported respiratory symptoms, lung function changes and their potential effect modifiers. The literature suggests strong evidence of an association between ambient pollen concentrations and almost all respiratory outcomes mentioned above, especially in people with pre-existing respiratory diseases. However, the evidence on sub-clinical lung function changes, COPD, and effect modifiers other than asthma, hay fever and pollen sensitisation are still scarce and requires further exploration. Better understanding of the implications of pollen on respiratory health can aid healthcare professionals to implement appropriate management strategies.

Keywords: asthma; allergic rhinitis; pollen; COPD; COVID; respiratory health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7541/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7541/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7541-:d:843368

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().