Link found between pollution exposure and asthma

People are more likely to suffer from ‘poorly controlled’ asthma if they have had a long-term exposure to air pollution.

French researchers have found that long-term o-zone contact raises the risk of hard to manage asthma by approximately 69 percent.

It was also discovered that prolonged exposure to particulate matter increased the incidences of poorly controlled asthma by 35 percent.

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Sufferers of uncontrolled asthma often experience shortness of breath while asleep and rely on using inhalers and steroids frequently to control their condition.

It was also discovered the when people have difficulty controlling their asthma they take more trips to hospital to seek help with the condition.   

 As part of the study the team of researchers asked 480 asthma sufferers about the extent of their condition, the frequency of their asthma attacks and their dependence on medication.

They coupled this information with data on where the participants lived and their exposure to air pollution at their home address.

The researchers focused specifically on their exposure to the ozone (O₃), nitrous oxide (NO₂) and particulate matter (PM₁₀).

They found “robust” results which indicate that o-zone and particulate matter exposure are heavily associated with poorer asthma control.

“Our results indicate that both ambient O₃ and PM₁₀ concentrations jeopardise asthma control in adults,” the researchers said while writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.