The relationship between environmental exposure and asthma in adolescents aged 10–13 years: A cross-sectional study in Chongqing, China

Abstract

BackgroundAsthma is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide and is closely related to environmental exposure. The prevalence of asthma and the relationship between asthma and the duration of environmental exposure in adolescents has not been reported in Chongqing, China. ObjectivesTo examine the prevalence of asthma among adolescents in Chongqing and investigate the relationships between asthma and environmental exposure. MethodsThe subjects were recruited from a previous cohort study. The data, demographics and respiratory characteristics were collected after a monthly follow-up visit. PM 2.5 concentrations were matched to the residential addresses of participants. ResultsThis study included 4146 samples (11.74 ± 0.71 years) and the prevalence of asthma was 3.98 % (165/4146). In terms of PM 2.5 exposure, the annual average PM 2.5 level was significantly higher in adolescents with asthma, and the annual average PM 2.5 was positively associated with asthma (OR = 1.252, 95%CI: 1.049, 1.495). After adjusting for multiple potential confounding factors, comparing with PM 2.5 concentration in the first interquartile range (Q1), seasonal PM 2.5 (OR = 1.791, 95%CI: 1.119, 2.866) and monthly PM 2.5 (OR = 1.484, 95%CI: 0.929, 2.373) in the third interquartile range (Q3), there was a statistically significant increased risk of asthma. In terms of weather-related factors, seasonal humidity (OR = 3.157, 95%CI: 1.168, 8.536), monthly humidity (OR = 2.397, 95%CI: 1.307, 4.397) and temperature (OR = 2.510, 95%CI: 1.157, 5.447), they were positively correlated with asthma. ConclusionsThis study illustrated the impact of chronic exposure of PM 2.5, temperature and humidity on asthma in adolescents.