Association of traffic air pollution and rhinitis quality of life in Peruvian children with asthma

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 3; p. e0193910
• Main Authors: Bose, Sonali, Romero, Karina, Psoter, Kevin J, Curriero, Frank C, Chen, Chen, Johnson, Caroline M, Kaji, Deepak, Breysse, Patrick N, Williams, D'Ann L, Ramanathan, Murugappan, Checkley, William, Hansel, Nadia N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.03.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Air Pollutants - adverse effects; Air pollution; Air Pollution - adverse effects; Allergies; Asthma; Asthma - physiopathology; Atmospheric pollution; Atopy; Black carbon; Carbon; Care and treatment; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Development and progression; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Engineering and Technology; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Exposure; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Low income groups; Male; Mathematical models; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Morbidity; Outdoor air quality; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Particulate Matter - adverse effects; People and Places; Peru; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Pollutants; Pollution; Public health; Quality assessment; Quality of Life; Rhinitis; Rhinitis - physiopathology; Rhinoconjunctivitis; Studies; Teenagers; Traffic; Traffic models; Urban areas; Urban schools; Young Adult; Peru; New York; United States > US; Baltimore Maryland
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193910

Air pollution exposure may contribute to rhinoconjunctivitis morbidity in children with underlying airways disease. Prior studies have not assessed rhinoconjunctivitis-related quality of life (QOL) in children with asthma chronically exposed to air pollution. Children ages 9-19 years with asthma from peri-urban Peru, self-reporting rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms (n = 484), were administered the Rhinoconjunctivitis QOL Questionnaire (RQLQ) at repeated intervals over one year, with scores dichotomized into bothered (>0) and not bothered (= 0). Individual weekly exposures to particulate matter<2.5μm (PM2.5) and its black carbon (BC) component were estimated by inverse distance weighted methods. Generalized estimating equations, adjusting for covariates, estimated associations of PM2.5 and BC with QOL. Participants were on average 13 years old, 55% female, and majority were atopic (77%). Mean (SD) PM2.5 and BC concentrations were 21(3.2) μg/m3 and 4.4(1.5) μg/m3, respectively. In adjusted multi-pollutant models, each 10μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with increased odds of worse rhinoconjunctivitis QOL (OR;[95% CI]: 1.83;[1.33,2.52]). A 10% increase in the BC proportion was associated with higher rhinitis burden (OR;[95% CI]: 1.80;[1.22,2.66]), while increases in the non-BC component of PM did not significantly impact rhinoconjunctivitis QOL. Associations were similar regardless of atopy. Higher PM2.5 and BC exposure is associated with worse rhinitis QOL among asthmatic children.