Short-term effects of airborne ragweed pollen on clinical symptoms of hay fever in a panel of 30 patients

Objectives: ragweed,ambrosia artemisiifolia,is a highly allergenic annual herbaceous plant that is spreading quickly across the globe. few studies have investigated the relationship between ragweed pollen counts and hay fever symptoms. we investigate the dose-response relationship between ragweed exposure in patients sensitized to ragweed and daily hay fever symptoms. method: a panel study was conducted among 31 adult patients sensitized to a artemisiifolia in france and switzerland. rhinitis,conjunctivitis,and bronchial symptoms were recorded daily,as well as daily pollen counts of ragweed,air pollutants,and meteorological data over 2 successive years. data were analyzed with generalized estimating equation models to quantify effects of ragweed pollen whilst controlling for confounders. results: the relationship between ragweed pollen and the percentage of patients with nasal,ocular,and bronchial symptoms was linear. for every increase of 10 grains/m3,the odds ratio (or) (95% confidence interval) for nasal symptoms was,in 2009,1.18 [1.04-1.35] on weekdays and 1.43 [1.16-1.75] at weekends,and in 2010,1.04 [1.00-1.07] on weekdays and 1.25 [1.06-1.46] at weekends. the or for ocular symptoms was 1.32 [1.16-1.56] in 2009 and 1.05 [1.02-1.07] in 2010. finally,the or for bronchial symptoms was 1.14 [1.03- 1.25] in 2009 and 1.03 [0.97-1.08] in 2010. conclusion: there is a statistically significant linear relationship between ragweed pollen counts and hay fever symptoms. our study shows that nasal symptoms differ on weekdays and at weekends. © 2014 esmon publicidad.