Long-term exposure to air pollution and the incidence of asthma: meta-analysis of cohort studies

We quantified the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and the incidence of asthma by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Incidence was defined as the incidence of diagnosed asthma or of new wheeze symptom between two assessments or, in birth cohort...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Air quality, atmosphere and health atmosphere and health, 2013-03, Vol.6 (1), p.47-56
Main Authors: Anderson, H. Ross, Favarato, Graziella, Atkinson, Richard W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Asthma
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Bias
Cohort analysis
Confidence intervals
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Estimates
Health hazards
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Internet resources
Investigations
Meta-analysis
Nitrogen dioxide
Particulate matter
Population
Statistical significance
Studies
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Summary:We quantified the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and the incidence of asthma by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Incidence was defined as the incidence of diagnosed asthma or of new wheeze symptom between two assessments or, in birth cohorts followed up to 10 years of age, a lifetime prevalence estimate of asthma or wheeze symptom. We identified 17 cohorts (eight birth cohorts and nine child/adult cohorts) with a total of 99 population-based risk estimates. The studies were heterogeneous in their design and methods of measurement. Follow-up ranged from 3 to 23 years. Most studies were based on within-community exposure contrasts dominated by traffic pollution. Twelve of the cohorts reported at least one positive statistically significant association between air pollution and a measure of incidence. Of the total of 99 estimates, only a minority (29) were positive and statistically significant. Estimates for meta-analysis were chosen a priori using a protocol. For the 13 studies with estimates for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), the random effects odds ratio was 1.07 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.13) per 10 μg/m 3 . For five studies with estimates for particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter
ISSN:1873-9318
1873-9326
DOI:10.1007/s11869-011-0144-5