Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with allergic asthma Ruano, Francisco Javier; Somoza Álvarez, Maria Luisa; Haroun-Díaz, Elisa ...
Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice/The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice,
10/2020, Volume:
8, Issue:
9
Journal Article
Severe asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical observations Haroun-Díaz, Elisa; Vázquez de la Torre, María; Ruano, Francisco Javier ...
Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice/The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice,
09/2020, Volume:
8, Issue:
8
Journal Article
Background
The prevalence of asthma has increased in recent decades. Among the reasons for this increase is environmental pollution. Pollutants cause bronchial inflammation and introduce ...modifications in the pollen, making it more allergenic.
Objective
Assess symptoms and medication requirements of asthmatic patients with grass allergies in Madrid (high urban pollution) and Ciudad Real (low pollution), and simultaneously evaluate the in vitro effects that pollen collected in both areas has on the immune cells of patients.
Methods
During two pollen seasons, patients from both cities were included. The patients recorded their symptoms and the asthma medication they took daily. In both cities, pollen data, pollutants and meteorological variables were evaluated. The response to different cell populations from patients in both areas were analysed after “in vitro” stimulation with pollen from both cities.
Results
The symptoms and medication use of the patients in Madrid was 29.94% higher. The NO2 concentration in Madrid was triple that of Ciudad Real (33.4 vs. 9.1 µg/m3 of air). All other pollutants had very similar concentrations during the study period. Pollen from the high pollution area caused a significant enhancement of T‐CD8+ and NK cells proliferation compared with pollen of low pollution area, independently of the patient's origin.
Conclusion
Asthmatic patients from Madrid have a worse clinical evolution than those from Ciudad Real because of higher levels of urban pollution, and this could be driven by the higher capacity of pollen of Madrid to activate T‐CD8+ and NK cells.
Patients with asthma caused by grass pollen are affected by high pollution rates. In areas with high pollution their clinical symptoms intensify, and patients require more medication. Pollen from highly polluted areas alters the immune system of patients. It causes in vitro an enhanced stimulation of T‐CD8+ and NK cells which could be responsible for the clinical worsening of the patients.
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