Women face a higher risk of asthma exacerbations when exposed to long-term air pollution. The U.S. study, “Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure, Plant-Based Diet and Asthma Exacerbations in the Nurses’ Health Study II,” was recently published in ATS Journals, and details the impact, even when exposure occurs at relatively low pollution levels.
The Nurses’ Health Study II followed more than 4,300 women with asthma from 1997 to 2014, highlighting the persistent health threats posed by fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Researchers used advanced spatiotemporal models to estimate 48-month average residential exposures to PM2.5, NO2 and ozone (O3). They also assessed participants’ dietary habits using a plant-based diet index (PDI), derived from food frequency questionnaires administered every four years
The results indicated that higher exposure to PM2.5 and NO2 was linked to increased odds of asthma exacerbations, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.43 and 1.25, respectively, in single pollutant models. In multipollutant models, NO2 remained significantly associated with exacerbation risk (OR 1.23). Researchers found no significant protective effect was found from a plant-based diet, suggesting that dietary habits, as measured in this study, do not mitigate the impact of air pollution on asthma.
The authors said the study underscores the importance of addressing environmental factors in asthma management and calls for additional research into long-term pollutant exposure and personal strategies to reduce risk.
“While further studies are needed, our results add to growing evidence that supports lowering acceptable standards for key air pollutants and highlights the need to identify personal, modifiable strategies of increasing resilience among susceptible populations, including women with asthma,” said the study’s lead author, Jing Gennie Wang, MD, in Healio. Dr. Wang is an assistant professor of internal medicine and medical director of the pulmonary function testing lab at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
