Exposure to air pollution not associated with allergic disease in early childhood

Key takeaways:

• Particulate matter concentrations were described as low.
• There were no concentration differences based on race.
• Exposure was not associated with asthma, wheeze or other atopic diseases.

WASHINGTON — There were no significant associations between prenatal exposure to ambient particulate matter and atopic disease, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.

Due to structural racism, Black and Latin populations have been exposed to more particulate air pollution, Stephanie Johannes, MD, MA, an allergy and immunology fellow at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said during her presentation.

Also, Johannes noted, prenatal exposure to particulate matter measuring 2.5 µm and smaller (PM_2.5) has been associated with increased risks for asthma.

These findings led the researchers to hypothesize that there is an association between exposure to PM_2.5 and increased odds for allergic disease in childhood, contributing to racial disparities observed in their study cohort.

The researchers monitored the children from 1,261 mother-infant pairs from birth through age 4 years. Using a standardized protocol, the researchers assigned allergy diagnoses to these children.

The researchers characterized ambient PM_2.5 concentrations, calculated using the mothers’ residential addresses, as generally low. Across pregnancy, the median PM_2.5 concentration was 7.4 µg/m³ (interquartile range, 0.8; range, 4.2-9.4) with no clinically meaningful differences in concentrations based on race.

Specifically, the researchers also said there were no statistically significant associations between exposure to ambient PM_2.5 and incidence of asthma, wheeze, allergic rhinitis, eczema or food allergy.

However, the researchers cautioned that further studies of other environmental and social drivers of health disparities would be useful in improving patient care in the future.

References:

• The development of allergic disease not associated with prenatal PM_2.5 air pollution exposure. https://www.aaaai.org/about/news/news/2024/development. Published Feb. 5, 2024. Accessed March 11, 2024.
• Johannes S, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024;doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2023.11.744.