Differences in grass pollen allergen exposure across Australia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beggs PJ ; Bowman DMJS ; Burton PK ; Campbell B ; Davies JM ; Erbas B ; Godwin I ; Green, Brett J. ; Haberle SG ; Huete AR ; Jaggard AK ; Johnston FH ; Katelaris CH ; Medek D ; Newbigin E ; Newnham RM ; Vicendese D
• Description:
  Objective: Allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma are important chronic diseases posing serious public health issues in Australia with associated medical, economic, and societal burdens. Pollen are significant sources of clinically relevant outdoor aeroallergens, recognised as both a major trigger for, and cause of, allergic respiratory diseases. This study aimed to provide a national, and indeed international, perspective on the state of Australian pollen data using a large representative sample. Methods: Atmospheric grass pollen concentration is examined over a number of years within the period 1995 to 2013 for Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, and Sydney, including determination of the 'clinical' grass pollen season and grass pollen peak. Results: The results of this study describe, for the first time, a striking spatial and temporal variability in grass pollen seasons in Australia, with important implications for clinicians and public health professionals, and the Australian grass pollen-allergic community. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that static pollen calendars are of limited utility and in some cases misleading. This study also highlights significant deficiencies and limitations in the existing Australian pollen monitoring and data. Implications: Establishment of an Australian national pollen monitoring network would help facilitate advances in the clinical and public health management of the millions of Australians with asthma and allergic rhinitis. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Asthma Asthma, Occupational Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Environmental Pollution Hypersensitivity Nose Occupational Health Particulate Matter Public Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Air-quality-measurement Air-quality-monitoring Airborne-particles Allergen Allergens Allergic-disorders Allergic Asthma Allergic Rhinitis Allergies Author Keywords: Pollen Bronchial-asthma Data-processing Environmental-hazards Nasal-cavity Nasal-disorders Outdoors Public-health Respiratory-system-disorders Season Seasonal-factors

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• ISSN:
  1326-0200
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  51-55
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045721
• Citation:
  Aust N Z J Public Health 2015 Feb; 39(1):51-55
• Contact Point Address:
  Associate Professor Paul J. Beggs, Department of Environment and Geography, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109
• Email:
  paul.beggs@mq.edu.au
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1554d4a8892df3e2dcf6fb706eb541d3d0ad9f83551c5d117a1493951b9396b9abd308250c01239cc2ddc61f0cf08d39992ecda25fe29d6c9a3c64ebb60dd240
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201030/cdc_201030_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 279.61 KB ]