- Asthma attacks, which involve the worsening of the inflammation and narrowing of the lung airways, are commonly caused by viral respiratory infections but can also be caused by non-viral factors.
- Higher exposure to air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of air pollutants to trigger asthma attacks are not well understood.
- A new study shows that higher levels of air pollutants, particularly ozone and fine particulate matter, were associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks in children residing in urban centers.
Viral respiratory infections are the most common cause of asthma attacks, but nonviral factors such as air pollutants are also associated with the flare-up of asthma symptoms.
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Researchers also noted that these air pollutants could trigger asthma attacks even when their concentrations were below national air quality standards.
The researchers added that higher ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations were associated with the activation of specific inflammatory pathways in the airways, helping to understand how higher pollutant levels may lead to an increased risk of asthma attacks in children living in urban areas.
“I think that this paper is very interesting and important because they were able not only to look at asthma exacerbation but also had data on the absence of respiratory virus and examined other outcomes,” said Dr. Antonella Zanobetti, an environmental health researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
“They show an association between air pollution and asthma exacerbations occurring in the absence of a provoking respiratory virus; therefore, air pollution in…
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