Work

Association Between Particulate Matter Pollutants and Ophthalmology Visits for Ocular Surface Irritation and Allergy

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background: The World Health Organization has declared climate change to be “the single biggest health threat facing humanity”, yet there are limited studies on the impact of climate change-related air pollution on ocular health. Objective: To explore associations between ocular surface irritation and allergy-related daily outpatient office visits with daily ambient particulate matter (PM) levels in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Methods: Daily visit counts of ophthalmology outpatient offices were obtained from an academic health center (October 1 st , 2015 to January 27 th , 2023). Daily ambient average concentrations of PM ≤ 10 μm in diameter (PM 10 ) and 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM 2.5 ) were obtained. Data were analyzed using distributed lag nonlinear models while accounting for the cumulative lagged effects of PM 10 and PM 2.5 for visits. Modifications due to temperature were assessed using stratified models. Results: There were 144,313 ocular surface irritation and allergy visits to ophthalmic clinics during the study period. Daily visit counts increased with increasing daily ambient PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations. Five-day cumulative ambient PM 10 concentrations at 80, 90, 100, and 110 μg/m 3 showed higher rate ratios at each level from 1.77 (95% CI: 1.71, 1.84) at concentration of 80 to 2.20 (95% CI: 2.09, 2.30) for concentration of 110 μg/m 3 . Similarly, the visit rate ratios increased as the daily PM 2.5 concentration increased, but this gradient effect was not significantly higher as the concentration increased. The effect of PM 10 was higher on days when the temperature was below the average. Temperature did not affect the association between daily visit counts and PM 2.5 . Conclusion: This study found that ambient PM increased the rate of ophthalmology visits due to ocular surface irritation and allergies. Most importantly, this association increased in magnitude with higher ambient PM concentrations. Additional studies are required to fully understand the effects of climate change-related stressors on ocular health. Plain Language Summary: This study explored the associations between ocular surface irritation and allergy-related daily outpatient office visits with daily ambient particulate matter (PM) levels in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Daily visit counts for ophthalmology outpatient offices were obtained from an academic health center. Daily ambient average concentrations of PM ≤ 10 μm in diameter (PM 10 ) and 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM 2.5 ) were obtained. There were 144,313 ocular surface irritation and allergy visits to ophthalmic clinics during the study period. Daily visit counts increased significantly with increasing daily ambient PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations, and this association increased in magnitude with higher ambient PM concentrations. Additional studies are required to fully understand the effects of climate change-related stressors on ocular health. Keywords: particulate matter, ocular surface irritation and allergy

Source: Clinical ophthalmology

DOI: 10.2147/opth.s485199

Authors: Jennifer Patnaik, Amy Dye-Robinson, Katherine James, Malik Kahook

Institutions: University of Colorado Anschutz, Colorado School of Public Health

Language: English

Topic: Air Quality and Health Impacts

Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,320