Changing of Allergenic Pollen Season in the Last Decade in the Italian Peninsula

Abstract

Understanding how pollen in air changes the pollen count season is of particular interest and closely related to respiratory allergies. Climate change is also reflected in the seasonal pollen trend. This study aims to assess the state and trends of airborne concentrations of pollen belonging to 3 of the major allergenic taxa present in Italy - Gramineae, Olea and Urticaceae - from 2009 to 2018 in the 10 macro-areas of the Italian peninsula. The pollen data of RIMA – AIA they have been collected in compliance with current regulations (CEN/TS 16868: 2015). For each taxon the pollen trends were elaborated, considering phenological indicators and production indicators (Jäger et al., 1996). The 21.0 IBM-SPSS Statistics Software was used to evaluate the significance of the trends through linear regression RMA statistical analysis There is a significant early start of the pollen season (Gramineae in Northern Adriatic p=0,034; Olea in South Adriatic p=0,018) and the peak day (Gramineae in Alps p=0,000, in Northern Adriatic p=0,012; in Po Valley p=0,047, in South Adriatic p=0,009; Olea in South Adriatic p=0,002), and a significant decrease in the API (Gramineae in Northern Tyrrhenian p=0,048; Olea in Alps p=0,040, in South Adriatic p=0,033; Urticaceae in Tyrrhenian Center p=0,003, in Northern Tyrrhenian p=0,045, in Po Valley p=0,044). Today the monitoring pollen is an important instrument in order to evaluate the real allergy sufferer risk, because the pollen trend variations could modify the rate of allergic response in patients. The relevant climate change could explain these pollen season trend.