Published by: School of Public Health, Edited by: Cheng Yu
WUST News Recently, the Environmental Science & Technology (EST), a top academic journal in the field of environmental science and Nature Index (with an impact factor of 12.6 in 2022, top in Q1), has accepted and published the research paper Modification of Food Allergy on the Associations between Early Life Exposure to Size-Specific Particulate Matter and Childhood Allergic Rhinitis by the team of Professor Zhang Ling from the School of Public Health of the WUST. Teacher Wu Chuansha and graduate student Tang Haoran are the co-first authors of the paper, and Professor Zhang Ling and Associate Professor Zhang Yunquan are the co-corresponding authors. The first affiliation is the School of Public Health of Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
This research paper is based on the China, Children, Homes, Health (CCHH) study. The second phase of this study included a total of 28,467 children aged 3-6 years from 7 cities in the Chinese mainland, including Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Taiyuan, and Urumqi. Childhood allergic rhinitis was used as the outcome to assess children's respiratory health, and whether children had food allergies was used as an effect modifier. Spatio-temporal exposure (1 × 1 km resolution) to atmospheric PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 was adjusted according to the residence of the respondents. A multi-level (city and child) logistic regression model combined with the dose-response relationship was used to quantitatively assess the effect modification of food allergy on the association between early life exposure to particulate matter and the risk of childhood allergic rhinitis.
The results of the study showed that for each increase in the interquartile range (IQR) concentration of PM1 (9.8 μg/m3), PM2.5 (14.9 μg/m3), and PM10 (37.7 μg/m3) in early life, the adjusted OR value of childhood allergic rhinitis in children with food allergy was significantly higher than the corresponding OR value in children without food allergy [PM1: OR = 1.57, 95% CI (1.32, 1.87) vs. 1.29, 95% CI (1.18, 1.41); PM2.5: OR = 1.47, 95% CI (1.26, 1.71) vs. 1.28, 95% CI (1.18, 1.39); PM10: OR = 1.66, 95% CI (1.32, 2.09) vs. 1.40, 95% CI (1.25, 1.58)]. Similar results were also observed for particulate matter of different particle sizes during pregnancy and the first year after birth. The effect modification of food allergy and exposure to particulate matter of different particle sizes on childhood allergic rhinitis had significant statistical significance (all P-int < 0.001), and the trends of the exposure-response relationship were consistent with the logistic regression results.
This cross-sectional study found that food allergy, an important part of the allergic disease process, may modify the association between exposure to airborne particulate matter and the risk of allergic rhinitis in children. By further identifying the most vulnerable population among children - children with food allergy, they can be protected from respiratory disease by taking protective measures as early as possible, which may help reduce the burden of allergic rhinitis.
It has been reported that since 2021, Professor Zhang Ling's team has had the opportunity to publish 5 research papers in internationally renowned SCI journals such as JAMA Network Open (IF2022 = 13.8), Environment International (IF2022 = 11.8), and the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (IF2021 = 14.29) based on the research on the indoor environment and children's health in China. The research topics are the effects of environmental particulate matter and indoor environmental pollution exposure on children's respiratory health and allergic diseases. In addition, 3 research papers have also been published in Chinese core journals such as the Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, the Journal of Environment and Health, and Modern Preventive Medicine. (School of Public Health)
Paper link
Environmental Science & Technology
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c05532
JAMA Network Open
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2797189
Environment International
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022002240?via%3Dihub
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091674921003596
International Journal of Environmental Health Research
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603123.2021.1955832?journalCode=cije20
