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. 2022 Jul 26;19(15):9093.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159093.

Pollen Exposure and Cardiopulmonary Health Impacts in Adelaide, South Australia

Monika Nitschke  1   2 , David Simon  1 , Keith Dear  2 , Kamalesh Venugopal  3 , Hubertus Jersmann  4   5 , Katrina Lyne  1
Affiliations

Pollen Exposure and Cardiopulmonary Health Impacts in Adelaide, South Australia

Monika Nitschke et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Limited research has suggested that cardiopulmonary health outcomes should be considered in relation to pollen exposure. This study sets out to test the relationship between pollen types (grasses, trees, weeds) and cardiovascular, lower respiratory and COPD health outcomes using 15 years (2003-2017) of data gathered in Adelaide, South Australia; (2) Methods: A time-series analysis by months was conducted using cardiopulmonary data from hospital admissions, emergency presentations and ambulance callouts in relation to daily pollen concentrations in children (0-17) for lower respiratory outcomes and for adults (18+). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated over lags from 0 to 7 days; (3) Results: IRR increases in cardiovascular outcomes in March, May, and October were related to grass pollen, while increases in July, November, and December were related to tree pollen. IRRs ranged from IRR 1.05 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.10) to 1.25 (95% CI 1.12-1.40). COPD increases related to grass pollen occurred only in May. Pollen-related increases were observed for lower respiratory outcomes in adults and in children; (4) Conclusion: Notable increases in pollen-related associations with cardiopulmonary outcomes were not restricted to any one season. Prevention measures for pollen-related health effects should be widened to consider cardiopulmonary outcomes.

Keywords: COPD; cardiovascular health; lower respiratory; pollen count; time series study.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Annual cycles of pollen counts modelled using cosinor analysis with 6 harmonics.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Short-term incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in adults for cardiovascular health outcomes. H = hospitalisation, E = emergency presentations, A = ambulance callouts. IRRs significantly different from 1 are highlighted using solid dots. IRRs refer to hospital admissions (H), emergency department presentations (E) and ambulance callouts (A) and pollen (Grasses, Weeds, Trees) by month. The estimated IRRs and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are based on an increase in 10 grains per cubic metre (10 grains per m3) compared to zero grains per m3. Furthermore, the IRRs are based on the sum of the coefficients of the 0–7 day lags between the exposure on day zero and the daily health outcomes from day zero to day 7.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Short-term incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in adults for lower respiratory health outcomes. H = hospitalisation, E = emergency presentations. IRRs significantly different from 1 are highlighted using solid dots. IRRs refer to hospital admissions (H), emergency department presentations (E) and ambulance callouts (A) and pollen (Grasses, Weeds, Trees) by month. The estimated IRRs and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are based on an increase in 10 grains per cubic metre (10 grains per m3) compared to zero grains per m3. Furthermore, the IRRs are based on the sum of the coefficients of the 0–7 day lags between the exposure on day zero and the daily health outcomes from day zero to day 7.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Short-term incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in adults for lower respiratory health outcomes. H = hospitalisation, E = emergency presentations. IRRs significantly different from 1 are highlighted using solid dots. IRRs refer to hospital admissions (H), emergency department presentations (E) and ambulance callouts (A) and pollen (Grasses, Weeds, Trees) by month. The estimated IRRs and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are based on an increase in 10 grains per cubic metre (10 grains per m3) compared to zero grains per m3. Furthermore, the IRRs are based on the sum of the coefficients of the 0–7 day lags between the exposure on day zero and the daily health outcomes from day zero to day 7.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Short-term incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in children for lower respiratory health outcomes. H = hospitalisation, E = emergency presentations. IRRs significantly different from 1 are highlighted using solid dots. IRRs refer to hospital admissions (H), emergency department presentations (E) and ambulance callouts (A) and pollen (Grasses, Weeds, Trees) by month. The estimated IRRs and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are based on an increase in 10 grains per cubic metre (10 grains per m3) compared to zero grains per m3. Furthermore, the IRRs are based on the sum of the coefficients of the 0–7 day lags between the exposure on day zero and the daily health outcomes from day zero to day 7.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Short-term incidence rate ratios (IRRs) in adults for COPD health outcomes. H = hospitalisation, E = emergency presentations, A = ambulance callouts. IRRs significantly different from 1 are highlighted using solid dots. IRRs refer to hospital admissions (H), emergency department presentations (E) and ambulance callouts (A) and pollen (Grasses, Weeds, Trees) by month. The estimated IRRs and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are based on an increase in 10 grains per cubic metre (10 grains per m3) compared to zero grains per m3. Furthermore, the IRRs are based on the sum of the coefficients of the 0–7 day lags between the exposure on day zero and the daily health outcomes from day zero to day 7.
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