SynthesisThe Science of the total environment2021
Interactive effects of allergens and air pollution on respiratory health: A systematic review.
Synthesis in The Science of the total environment, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Update of a systematic review on associations between environmental exposures and asthma control and exacerbations in young children.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Differential Allergenicity and Heavy Metal Content in Dactylis glomerata and Lolium perenne Pollen Across Contrasting Environments.Environmental toxicology · 2026Article
- Association of Short-Term Pollen Exposure With Lung Function in COPD Patients.Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (Miami, Fla.) · 2026Article
- A Bibliographic Review of Airborne Fungal Allergens from Dominant and Undercharacterized Genera.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Analysing allergen-environment interactions to identify drivers of asthma presentations in Metropolitan Melbourne, 2017-2022.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Vulnerability to Pollen-Related Asthma Hospital Admissions in the UK Biobank: A Case-Crossover Study.Allergy · 2025Article
- Interactions among Cupressaceae pollen, air pollutants and meteorology in the urban and suburban areas of Beijing, China.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Prediction of daily childhood asthma exacerbation from ambient meteorological, environmental risk factors and respiratory viruses, Philadelphia, PA, 2011 to 2016.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2025Article
- Asthma Inception: Epidemiologic Risk Factors and Natural History Across the Life Course.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2024Review
- Bioaerosol Exposures and Respiratory Diseases in Cannabis Workers.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2024Review
- The Health-Related and Learning Performance Effects of Air Pollution and Other Urban-Related Environmental Factors on School-Age Children and Adolescents-A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Current environmental health reports · 2024Article
- The Associations of Prenatal Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Its Chemical Components with Allergic Rhinitis in Children and the Modification Effect of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: A Birth Cohort Study.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Climate Change, Exposome Change, and Allergy: A Review.Immunology and allergy clinics of North America · 2024Review
- Dissecting Airborne Allergens.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- The Notorious Triumvirate in Pediatric Health: Air Pollution, Respiratory Allergy, and Infection.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Climate change and respiratory disease: clinical guidance for healthcare professionals.Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2023Review
- Fungal Aeroallergens-The Impact of Climate Change.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Pollen exposure is associated with risk of respiratory symptoms during the first year of life.Allergy · 2022Article
- Birch pollen, air pollution and their interactive effects on airway symptoms and peak expiratory flow in allergic asthma during pollen season - a panel study in Northern and Southern Sweden.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2022Article
- A Review of the Respiratory Health Burden Attributable to Short-Term Exposure to Pollen.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundStudies have demonstrated an adverse role of outdoor allergens on respiratory symptoms. It is unknown whether this effect is independent or synergistic of outdoor air pollutants.
methodsWe systematically reviewed all epidemiological studies that examined interaction effects between counts of outdoor airborne allergens (pollen, fungal spores) and air pollutants, on any respiratory health outcome in children and adults. We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus databases. Each study was summarized qualitatively and assessed for quality and risk of bias (International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews, registration number CRD42020162571).
resultsThirty-five studies were identified (15 timeseries, eight case-crossovers, 11 panels and one cohort study), of which 12 reported a significant statistical interaction between an allergen and air pollutant. Eight interactions were related to asthma outcomes, including one on lung function measures and wheeze, three to medical consultations for pollinosis and one to allergic symptoms (nasal, ocular or bronchial). There was no consensus as to which allergen or air pollutant is more likely to interact. No study investigated whether interactions are stronger in atopic individuals.
conclusionDespite strong evidence from small experimental studies in humans, only a third of studies identified significant allergen-pollutant interactions using common epidemiological study designs. Exposure misclassification, failure to examine subgroups at risk, inadequate statistical power or absence of population-level effects are possible explanations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.