ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Opposite Trends of Allergic Disorders
and Respiratory Symptoms in Children
over a Period of Large-Scale Ambient Air
Pollution Decline
Grzegorz M. Brożek, Jan E. Zejda, Małgorzata Kowalska, Mateusz Gębuś,
Krzysztof Kępa, Michał Igielski
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Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Silesia,
Medyków 18, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2010;19(6):1133-1138
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of our study was to analyze a 15-year trend in the prevalence of allergic disorders and respiratory
symptoms in children living in an urban area of Upper Silesia, Poland. Three cross-sectional studies
(1993, 2002, and 2007) in children aged 7-10 showed a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of
all physician-diagnosed allergic disorders (1993-2002-2007): asthma (3.4%-4.7%-8.5%); allergic rhinitis
(9.1%-13.7%-17.4%); atopic dermatitis (3.6%-8.4%-8.9%); allergic conjunctivitis (4.3%-11.8%-14.9%);
allergy to pollen (5.9%-12.3%-17.3%); allergy to food (5.5%-11.0%-17.0%). A simultaneous decreasing trend
in the prevalence of coughing correlated with significant improvement of ambient air quality. However, the
rising trends could result from both increasing incidence and improved diagnosis of allergic diseases.