The impact of climate change on aeroalleregen and pediatric allergic diseases

Hyeon Jong Yang; You Hoon Jeon; Taek Ki Min; Bu Soon Son; Kwan Jun Park; Jong Youn Moon; Bok Yang Pyun

doi:10.5124/jkma.2011.54.9.971

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Yang, Jeon, Min, Son, Park, Moon, and Pyun: The impact of climate change on aeroalleregen and pediatric allergic diseases

Healthcare Policy

Journal of the Korean Medical Association

Journal of the Korean Medical Association 2011; 54(9): 971-978.

Published online: 15 September 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2011.54.9.971

The impact of climate change on aeroalleregen and pediatric allergic diseases

Hyeon Jong Yang, MD¹, You Hoon Jeon, MD¹, Taek Ki Min, MD¹, Bu Soon Son, PhD², Kwan Jun Park³, Jong Youn Moon, MD³, Bok Yang Pyun, MD¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Center, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

²Department of Environmental Health Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Korea.

³Research Institute for Healthy Cities and Health Impact Assessment, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan, Korea.

Corresponding author: Bok Yang Pyun, bypyun@schmc.ac.kr

Received 8 August 2011 Accepted 22 August 2011

(open-access):

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The etiology of allergic diseases has been considered multi-factorial, comprising genetic, epigenetic, developmental, and environmental factors, as well as their complex interactions. The rising prevalence of allergic disease in recent decades could be explained by changes in environmental factors rather than genetic factors. Climate change has many significant impacts on aeroallergens such as pollen and mold. Therefore, climate changes are considered to be a key environmental factor affecting not only the prevalence but also the severity of allergic disease. In addition, these environmental factors might be more important for young children than for adults. While the concept that environmental factors including climate change would affect the characteristics of allergic disease is generally accepted, it is not enough to explain the mechanisms of the increase in the prevalence and severity of allergic diseases. Nevertheless, evidence exists that climate change has spurred changes in aeroallergens such as pollen and outdoor fungi, and that these changes are associated with the increased incidence of pediatric allergic disease.

Keywords: Aeroallergen, Allergic disease, Climate change, Prevalence

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Impacts of climate change on aeroallergens and human health, and prevention/adaptation.

Table 1

The impacts of climate change on the level of atmospheric pollen characteristics

Temp: temperature.

Table 2

The impacts of climate change on the level of atmospheric pollen characteristics

Temp, temperature.

Table 3

The impacts of climate change on the allergic respiratory disease of children

PEF, peak expiratory flow; FEF, forced expiratory volume; ER, emergency department.

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