The Effect of Weather Variability on Pediatric Asthma Admissions in Athens, Greece (original) (raw)
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Finisterra
Asthma attacks triggered by thunderstorms have been described in several countries. The rises in pollen concentrations, attributed to atmospheric electrical discharges, were considered the leading cause of these outbreaks. The presence of various pollutants as well as certain weather conditions may contribute synergistically to the onset of exacerbations in patients with a previous diagnosis of asthma. This study aims to investigate whether atmospheric electrical discharges exert any influence on the number of emergency admissions due to childhood asthma, in autumn, in Lisbon. The investigation will examine whether there are isolated or combined effects of meteorological variables, pollutant and pollen concentrations that favour an increase in the number of exacerbations of asthma symptoms. For this purpose we compared the number of asthma admissions in periods with and without thunderstorms in a Lisbon paediatric emergency service. Increasing pollen concentrations attributed to thu...
Weather impacts on respiratory infections in Athens, Greece
International journal of biometeorology, 2006
In this study the contribution of meteorological parameters to the total variability of respiratory infections (RI) is analysed. For this purpose, data on the daily numbers of general practitioner (GP) consultations for RI during the year 2002 were used. This dataset has been compiled by the Local Health Service in the surroundings of Athens, Greece (Acharnes city). The meteorological data obtained by the Meteorological Station of the National Observatory of Athens comprise daily values of mean, maximum, and minimum air temperature, air temperature range, relative humidity, absolute humidity, sunshine, surface atmospheric pressure, wind speed, as well as day-to-day changes of these parameters. Furthermore, the following biometeorological parameters and thermal indices were also evaluated: mean radiant temperature (T (mrt)), predicted mean vote (PMV), physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and standard effective temperature (SET*) as well as their day-to-day changes. First, the...
Impact of weather conditions on childhood admission for wheezy chest and bronchial asthma
Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran, 2019
↑What is "already known" in this topic: Climate change represents a possible threat to patients with bronchial asthma. Literature reports show the relationship between the development and exacerbation of asthma attacks and the meteorological observations. However, no previous study was done in Basra to show this relationship. →What this article adds: This study showed that changes in weather conditions, especially high relative humidity, rain, and cold weather, can trigger or worsen asthma attacks, especially in younger children. Thus, applying protective measures required. Abstract Background: Climate change represents a possible threat to patients with bronchial asthma. The purpose of this study was to investigate any association between specific meteorological conditions and the rate of hospital admission for bronchial asthma and wheezy chest. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to observe the effects of changes in some meteorological variables on children aged 1-13 years with bronchial asthma and wheezy chest. Data were obtained from hospital registries for the study period involving all patients admitted with the diagnosis of wheezy chest and bronchial asthma. The meteorological data were obtained from the Iraqi World Meteorological Organization and Seismology and consisted of the mean monthly values of humidity, rain, temperature, dust, wind, and thunderstorms. The correlation between the mean monthly admission for bronchial asthma and changes in weather variables were investigated. Results: There were 1043 admissions for asthma or wheezy chest (7.76%). Out of all asthma cases, 75% (n=783) were 1-5 years, while 25% (n=260) were 6-13 years. Male patients predominate 67.8%, with a male to female ratio of 2:1. Hospital admissions for asthma and wheezy chest showed a seasonal variation especially for younger children. Higher monthly admission rates were associated with high relative humidity, rain, increase in wind speed, and lower temperature, whereas rising dust and thunderstorms did not show notable effects on children's admission for asthma. Conclusion: The findings suggested that changes in weather conditions, especially high relative humidity and cold weather, may trigger asthma attacks especially in younger children, and thus protective measures are recommended for at risk children.
Do the maxima of air pollutants coincide with the incedence of childhood asthma in Athens, Greece?
Issue 3, 2013
In the present study an assessment of the influence of the ambient air pollution on the incidence of the Childhood Asthma Admissions (CAA) is attempted by using cross spectrum analysis. The medical data concern the hospital registries of the three main Children’s Hospitals of Athens for the 14-year period, 1987-2000. The air pollution data used in this study were mean monthly concentrations of CO, Black Smoke (BS), NOx, SO2, and O3, averaged over all the available stations, for each air pollutant, in the network of the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works (GMEPPPW) for the aforementioned 14-year period. The performed analysis revealed that a pronounced seasonal variation of asthma exacerbation among Athenian children does exist, rising during the cold damp period in pre-schoolers and peaking around May in the schoolchildren. We found that asthma admissions are associated with ambient air pollution at different frequencies. Asthma exacerbation among t...
Thunderstorm-related asthma ? the epidemic of 24/25 June 1994
Clinical <html_ent glyph="@amp;" ascii="&"/> Experimental Allergy, 1997
Background A large epidemic of asthma occutred following a thunderstorm in southern and central England on 24/25 June 1994. A collaborative study group was formed. Objectives To describe the epidemic atid the meteorological, aerobiologieal and other environmental characteristics associated with it. Methods Collation of data from the Meteorological Office, the Pollen Research Unit, the Department of the Environtnent"s Automatic Urban Network, from health surveillance by the Department of Health and the National Poisons Unit, from clinical experience in general practice and hospitals, and from an immunological study of some of the affected cases from north east London. Results The thunderstorm was a Mesoscale Convective System, an unusual and large form of storm with several centres and severe wind gusts. It occurred shortly after the peak grass pollen concentration in the London area. A sudden and extensive epidemic occurred within about an hour affecting possibly several thousand patients. Emergency services were stretched but the epidemic did not last long. Cases had high serum levels of IgE antibody to mixed grass pollen. Conclusion This study supports the view that patients with specific IgE to grass pollen are at risk of thunderstorm-related asthma. The details of the causal pathway from storm to asthma attack are not clear. Case-control and time series studies are being carried out.
Childhood asthma and atmospheric conditions
Pediatrics International, 1996
Bronchial asthma is the most common chronic respiratory illness in childhood. It is characterized by paroxysmal bronchospastic periods. There are many studies giving reasons to explain the bronchospasm periods. One of the reasons, atmospheric conditions, is effective in creating a clinical picture of asthmatic patients. In the present study, the correlation between atmospheric conditions and asthmatic symptoms in children was investigated using peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) as the respiratory function test. Twentyone children with bronchial asthma were monitored in the study. They were followed as outpatients of the Ege University Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatric Allergy and Pneumotology, between November 1993 and June 1994. Atmospheric conditions were recorded from the local meteorology center. Complaints and the PEFR of children were compared with the meteorological data. Asthmatic symptoms were increased by low temperatures in all asthmatic children. An increase was detected in the extrinsic group by relative humidity and ratio of cloud, but in the intrinsic group only by relative humidity.
Climate Research, 2008
We studied the relationship among (1) the characteristic weather types found in the Carpathian Basin in the summer to early autumn period (July 15 to October 15) and in the winter months (December, January and February), (2) the levels of chemical (CO, NO, NO 2 , NO 2 /NO, O 3 , O 3max , SO 2 , PM 10 ) and biological (pollen) air pollutants, and (3) their effect on respiratory diseases. The database comprises daily values of 13 meteorological parameters, 8 chemical and 8 biological pollutants, and the number of patients for the period from 1999 to 2003, in Szeged, Hungary. Altogether, 9 symptom groups of respiratory diseases and their occurrences were taken into account. In the summer to early autumn period a total of 26 703 patients, while in the winter months a total of 14 507 patients, registered with respiratory diseases were considered. An objective definition of the characteristic weather types was carried out by using factor and cluster analysis. In the winter months, there was no relationship between the 8 defined weather types and patient numbers. On the other hand, in the summer to early autumn period, Weather Type 7, with a weak anticyclonic ridge character and the highest patient numbers, was linked to high temperature parameters (T mean , T max , T min ), low relative humidity, as well as high chemical and biological pollutant levels. At the same time, Type 2 (anticyclonic ridge character) was associated with the lowest patient numbers and was characterized by high temperature and medium relative humidity parameters, as well as high levels of chemical and low levels of biological air pollutants. Results on the relationships of the meteorological parameters and chemical air pollutants, as well as weather types, will be built into a model to predict, and in this way to prepare for, days of severe risk of respiratory illness.
The effects of weather, air pollutants, and Asian dust on hospitalization for asthma in Fukuoka
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 2010
Objective We assessed the association of fluctuations in ambient temperature, air pollutants, and Asian dust (AD) events with the hospitalization of children for asthma in Fukuoka City. Methods Data on emergency hospitalizations of children under 12 years of age for asthma were collected at Fukuoka National Hospital. We obtained air pollution and meteorological data for Fukuoka from the National Institute for Environmental Studies. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design, we estimated odds ratios (ORs) of hospitalization corresponding to a unit change in weather variables and concentration of air pollutants. We also evaluated the effect of AD events on asthma hospitalization with data stratified by days with or without an AD event. Results There were 3427 hospitalizations and 106 AD events from 2001 to 2007. We found that within-day temperature change rather than ambient temperature was associated with asthma exacerbation. In the multi-pollutant model, the ORs per 1°C within-day drop and rise during the period from the hospitalization day to 3 days previously (lag3) were 1.033 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.005–1.063] and 1.027 (95% CI 0.995–1.060), rspectively. A 10 μg/m3 increase in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at lag2–lag3 were significantly associated with an increase in asthma hospitalization with ORs of 1.041 (95% CI 1.013–1.070) and 1.112 (95% CI 1.022–1.209), respectively. We did not observe a significant association between asthma hospitalization and AD events. Conclusions This study showed that temperature fluctuation, SPM, and NO2 were associated with an increased risk of hospitalization of children for asthma.