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Asthma Epidemiology, Etiology, Pathophysiology and Management in the Current Scenario
Published in Suvardhan Kanchi, Rajasekhar Chokkareddy, Mashallah Rezakazemi, Smart Nanodevices for Point-of-Care Applications, 2022
Manu Sharma, Aishwarya Rathore, Sheelu Sharma, Kakarla Raghava Reddy, Veera Sadhu, Raghavendra V. Kulkarni
The main fundamental cause of asthma is unknown but it is believed that the highest risk factor for developing asthma is a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure to certain pollutants and allergens.
Coal
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Energy Security for The 21st Century, 2021
In more practical terms, asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways. Airway inflammation in asthmatics causes swelling in the throat that narrows a bronchial tree that has been previously sensitized to inhaled irritants, including many air pollutants.
Energy Markets’ Risks
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Global Energy Market Trends, 2021
In more practical terms, asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways. Airway inflammation in asthmatics causes swelling in the throat that narrows a bronchial tree that has been previously sensitized to inhaled irritants, including many air pollutants. Exposure to an inhaled irritant causes further narrowing of the airways and the production of mucus that makes airways even narrower. A vicious and very dangerous process for all affected.
PM2.5 aggravates airway inflammation in asthmatic mice: activating NF-κB via MyD88 signaling pathway
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023
Lei Wang, Yanzhi Cui, Hu Liu, Jing Wu, Jie Li, Xiansheng Liu
Bronchial asthma is caused by both genetic and environmental factors. It is an inflammatory disease that mainly involves inflammatory cells (e.g. macrophages, T lymphocytes, eosinophils and neutrophils) (Castillo et al. 2017). According to the predisposing factors, asthma can be classified into allergic asthma and non-allergic asthma. Asthma induced by allergens (e.g. microorganisms, mites, pollen) can be classified as allergic asthma, which is characterized by increased eosinophils, activation of mast cells and type II helper T cells, large secretion of cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-13, and increased level of immunoglobulin E (Schatz and Rosenwasser 2014). Non-allergic asthma is generally induced by environmental factors such as air pollutants (e.g. dust particles and automobile exhaust), bacterial or viral infection, obesity and other environmental factors, and it is not directly related to the allergens (Peters 2014).
World Trade Center-related asthma: clinical care essentials
Published in Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 2023
Asthma is defined as a heterogeneous disease with respiratory symptoms (wheeze, shortness of breath, chest tightness and cough) that vary over time and intensity, and variable expiratory airflow limitation. Environmental and occupational exposures, including those from irritants, are potential causes. Symptoms often predate an asthma diagnosis. Spirometry with assessment of bronchodilator reversibility is an initial step in an evaluation for asthma, however, bronchodilator reversibility may not always be detected, and spirometry may not fully characterize the respiratory symptoms. Bronchoprovocation, peak flow monitoring, clinical treatment trials, or exercise studies can also be considered. Fixed airflow obstruction consistent with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may also occur in severe or longstanding asthma. Although not included in the guidelines referenced above, small airway abnormalities have been documented in symptomatic obstructive airway diseases using pathologic studies, imaging, and physiologic techniques, including respiratory oscillometry.29–31
Effects of air pollutants and temperature on the number of asthma outpatient visits in Hohhot, China
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2022
Chenghua Gao, Xing Yao, Xue Wang, Zichao Li, Yaping Wang, Xiaoqian Xu, Lehui Li, Xingguang Zhang, Xin Fang
With rapid economic and industrial development, air pollution has become a major environmental public health concern having global implications. As reported by the Lancet Pollution and Health Commission, the number of deaths due to air pollution from PM2.5 increased from 3.5 million (95% CI: 3.0–4.0 million) to 4.2 million (3.7–4.8 million) from 1990 to 2015, which has further increased by 20% (Landrigan et al. 2018). Being the first point of contact between the human body and the atmosphere, the respiratory tract is highly susceptible to the effects of air pollutants and changes in meteorological conditions. Air pollution is widely known to induce or aggravate asthma through oxidative damage and other pathways (Guarnieri and Balmes 2014; Liu et al. 2022). This can be characterized by the worsening of symptoms and an increase in the number of outpatient visits. Han and colleagues extracted data from Korea’s National Health Insurance records spanning 11 years and discovered that short-term exposure to air pollutants is significantly and positively correlated to the risk of hospitalization for asthma, as well as the effects of various types of pollutants are variably related (Han et al. 2021). However, asthma risk varies by age, gender, race, and region; for instance, children are more likely to develop asthma than adults (Stern et al. 2020).