Urban background particulate matter and allergic sensitization in adults of ECRHS II

Background: Epidemiological studies have shown weak or inconsistent associations between ambient air pollutants and allergic sensitization. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether regional urban air pollution may partly explain the large variation in the prevalence of allergic sensitization across cities of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) II. Methods: ECRHS is a cross-sectional survey initiated in 29 countries across Europe in the 1990s (ECRHS 1) with a follow-up conducted 10 years later (ECRHS 11). Subject characteristics were measured by questionnaires and blood tests conducted for the measurement of specific immunoglobulin E. Fine particle mass (PM2.5, < 2.5 mu m) and sulphur on PM2.5 were measured in 21 centres and annual averages of urban regional background air pollution were calculated. Results were scaled by an interquartile range increase in ambient PM2.5 (6.03 mu g/m(3)) and sulphur (1336ng/m(3)). Generalized estimating equations were applied to compute population average effect estimates with adjustment for age, gender, smoking habit, education and number of siblings. Conclusions: The study suggests that regional air pollution measured at fixed sites is not associated with allergic sensitization among adults in ECRHS II. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.