過敏專家、美國過敏氣喘暨免疫協會總裁Richard G. Gower醫師在一篇聲明中表示，氣喘是孩童最常見的慢性疾病。長久以來，過敏專家都知道過度乾燥、潮濕或刮風等氣候因素會影響氣喘症狀。本研究進一步確認了氣溫與溼度對於孩童氣喘的影響角色，也確認了瞭解病患症狀發生來源的重要性，這有助於擬定適合他們的治療計畫。
研究作者皆宣告沒有相關資金上的往來。
Changes in Weather Linked to Asthma Exacerbations in Children
By Laurie Barclay, MD
Medscape Medical News
September 17, 2009 — Changes in weather are linked to asthma exacerbations in children, according to the results of a 2-year, retrospective study reported in the September issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma Immunology.
"The latest National Institutes of Health guidelines list 'change in weather' as a possible precipitating factor for asthma, but no previous studies have really examined this potential trigger in a rigorous fashion," lead author Nana A. Mireku, MD, an allergist at Dallas Allergy Immunology private practice in Texas, formerly at Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, said in a news release.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrated these correlations after controlling for levels of airborne pollutants and common aeroallergens," Dr. Mireku said. "Our study is also one of the few to examine the possibility that the weather one or two days before the asthma exacerbation may be as important as that on the day of admission, as the additional [emergency department (ED)] visits occur one to two days after the fluctuation."
The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of fluctuations in climatic factors, including temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure, on asthma exacerbations in children. From January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2005, children seen for an asthma exacerbation at the ED of a large urban hospital were included in the study sample.
The investigators collected daily data on climactic factors, pollutants, and aeroallergens. Using time series analysis, they determined the relationship of daily (intraday) or between-day (interday) changes in climactic factors and asthma ED visits, controlling for seasonality, air pollution, and aeroallergen exposure. The effects of climactic factors were assessed on the day of admission (T = 0) and up to 5 days before admission (T ? 5 through T ? 1) for 25,401 asthma ED visits.
On day T ? 1 or day T ? 2, a 10% intraday increase in humidity was associated with approximately 1 additional ED visit for asthma (P < .001 and P = .01, respectively). Interday changes in humidity from day T ? 3 to T ? 2 were also linked to more ED visits (P < .001), as were interday changes in temperature from T ? 1 to T = 0. A 10°F increase from T ? 1 to T = 0 was associated with 1.8 additional visits (P = .006). Changes in barometric pressure did not appear to affect ED visits.
"We found a strong relationship between temperature and humidity fluctuations with pediatric asthma exacerbations, but not barometric pressure," Dr. Mireku said.
Limitations of this study include those inherent in a retrospective study, such as possible misclassification of asthma cases and inability to control for viral infections.
"Asthma is the most common chronic illness in childhood," said allergist Richard G. Gower, MD, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, in a statement. "Allergists have long known that weather conditions such as extremely dry, wet, or windy weather can affect asthma symptoms. This study further defines the role of temperature and humidity on children's asthma and confirms the importance of working with patients to identify the source of their symptoms and develop treatment plans that help prevent them."
The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
