Outdoor pollen is a trigger of child and adolescent asthma emergency department presentations: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
Background: In the context of increased asthma exacerbations associated with climatic changes such as thunderstorm asthma, interest in establishing the link between pollen exposure and asthma hospital admissions has intensified. Here, we systematically reviewed and performed a meta‐analysis of studies on pollen and emergency department (ED) attendance. Methods: A search for studies with appropriate search strategy in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and CINAHL was conducted. Each study was assessed for quality and risk of bias. The available evidence was summarized both qualitatively and meta‐analysed using random‐effects models when moderate heterogeneity was observed. Results: Fourteen studies were included. The pollen taxa investigated differed between studies, allowing meta‐analysis only of the effect of grass pollen. A statistically significant increase in the percentage change in the mean number of asthma ED presentations (MPC) (pooled results from 3 studies) was observed for an increase in 10 grass pollen grains per cubic metre of exposure 1.88% (95% CI = 0.94%, 2.82%). Time series studies showed positive correlations between pollen concentrations and ED presentations. Age‐stratified studies found strongest associations in children aged 5‐17 years old. Conclusion: Exposure to ambient grass pollen is an important trigger for childhood asthma exacerbations requiring ED attendance. As pollen exposure is increasingly a problem especially in relation to thunderstorm asthma, studies with uniform measures of pollen and similar analytical methods are necessary to fully understand its impact on human health.
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Exposure to ambient grass pollen is an important trigger for childhood asthma exacerbations requiring emergency department attendance.
“Exposure to ambient grass pollen is an important trigger for childhood asthma exacerbations requiring emergency department attendance and this has been recently confirmed by a systemic review (99).”
From Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults (2019) · cites this paper as [99]
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- Erbas, B;Jazayeri, M;Lambert, KA;Katelaris, CH;Prendergast, LA;Tham, R;Parrodi, MJ;Davies, J;Newbigin, E;Abramson, MJ;Dharmage, SC Title: Outdoor pollen is a trigger of child and adolescent asthma emergency department presentations: A systematic review and meta-analysis Date: 2018-08 Citation:
- Erbas, B., Jazayeri, M., Lambert, K. A., Katelaris, C. H., Prendergast, L. A., Tham, R., Parrodi, M. J., Davies, J., Newbigin, E., Abramson, M. J. & Dharmage, S. C. (2018). Outdoor pollen is a trigger of child and adolescent asthma emergency department presentations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. ALLERGY, 73 (8), pp.1632-1641. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.13407. Persistent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/283486
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- Authors
- Erbas, B., Jazayeri, M., Lambert, K. A., Katelaris, C. H., Prendergast, L. A., Tham, R., Parrodi, M. J., Davies, J., Newbigin, E., Abramson, M. J., & Dharmage, S. C.
- Affiliations
- La Trobe University (AU)
- Camden and Campbelltown Hospitals (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Monash University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Erbas, B.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Allergy
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-03-02
- Volume
- 73
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1632-1641
- ISSN
- 0105-4538 (ISSN-L)
- 1398-9995
- OpenAlex
- W2793890841
- Cited by
- 156
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 2.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Allergy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Pfizer
- Sanofi
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Queensland University of Technology
- University of Queensland
- Asthma Australia
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale
- Australian Research Council (DP170101630)
- National Health and Medical Research Council (1116107, GNT 111610 7)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Immunology and Allergy › Allergic Rhinitis and Sensitization
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Keywords
- pollen exposure, grass pollen, childhood asthma, adolescent asthma, asthma exacerbations, emergency department presentation, asthma hospital admissions, thunderstorm asthma, pollen concentration, climate change
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Allergens, Asthma, Child, Child, Preschool, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, Poaceae, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Pollen, Trees, Climate Change, Plant Weeds, Tracheophyta
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