Childhood asthma and land-use characteristics in school and residential neighborhoods: A decision tree learning approach

Authors gratefully acknowledge the Project EXALAR 21 funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Programme, and by national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the project info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/9471 - RIDTI/PTDC/GES-AMB/30193/2017/PT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030193, 02/SAICT/2017—Project nº 30193). This study was also funded by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology—FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB/04750/2020/PT). G21 was funded by Programa Operacional de Saúde—Saúde XXI, Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III and Administração Regional de Saúde Norte (Regional Department of Ministry of Health). Ana Isabel Ribeiro was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the program of “Stimulus of Scientific Employment—Individual Support” within the contract info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/CEEC IND 2018/CEECIND/02386/2018/CP1538/CT0001/PT. João Cavaleiro Rufo was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the program of “Stimulus of Scientific Employment—Individual Support” within the contract 2020.01350.CEECIND

Allergen immunotherapy for asthma prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized controlled studies

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a disease-modifying treatment for IgE-mediated diseases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) support AIT's potential role in asthma prevention but evidence from non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSI) and longitudinal observational studies has been poorly addressed. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess clinical data from all study types to evaluate quantitatively the preventive role of AIT in asthma onset. Methods: We search three databases. Studies were screened, selected and evaluated for quality using risk-of-bias (ROB) tools. Data were descriptively summarized and meta-analysed using random effects. We performed a sensitivity, influence and subgroup analyses. Publication bias and heterogeneity were assessed. Results: From the 4549 identified studies, 24 (12 RCTs and 12 NRSI) were included in the qualitative synthesis and 18 underwent meta-analysis. One study was at low ROB, seven had moderate ROB, and 15 were proven of high ROB. Random-effects analysis showed a significant decrease in the risk of developing asthma following AIT by 25% (RR, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.64–0.88). This effect was not significant in the sensitivity analysis. Publication bias raised concerns, together with the moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 58%). Subgroup analysis showed a remarkable preventive effect of AIT in children (RR, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.53–0.96), when completing 3 years of therapy (RR, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.47–0.88), and in mono-sensitized patients (RR, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.39–0.61). Conclusions: Our findings support a possible preventive effect of AIT in asthma onset and suggest an enhanced effect when administered in children, mono-sensitized, and for at least 3 years, independently of allergen type. © 2022 European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Funding text 1: Mariana Farraia is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the PhD Grant number SFRH/BD/145168/2019. João Cavaleiro Rufo is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the Stimulus for Scientific Employment Individual Support (2020.01350.CEECIND).; Funding text 2: Mariana Farraia is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the PhD Grant number SFRH/BD/145168/2019. João Cavaleiro Rufo is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the Stimulus for Scientific Employment Individual Support (2020.01350.CEECIND)

Cost-effectiveness analysis of grass pollen specific immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinitis compared to the standard of care symptomatic treatment in Portugal

Background. Cost-effectiveness studies evaluating allergen immunothera-py (AIT) in children are scarce. We aim to compare the cost-effectiveness of subcutaneous (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) against stan-dard-of-care (SOC) treatment in children with grass pollen allergic rhinitis. Methods. We created a Markov model to compare the three strategies over a 10-year horizon. SOC was the reference to calculate the incremental cost-ef-fectiveness ratio (ICER). Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were used to assess models’ uncertainty. Results. We obtained an ICER of 12,605€ and 6,318€ for SLIT and SCIT, respectively. In sensitivity analysis, SCIT was more cost-effective than SLIT. Conclusions. AIT is cost-effective in children with grass pollen allergic rhinitis, especially for the subcutaneous route. © 2023 Associazione Allergologi Immunologi Italiani Territoriali e Ospedalieri-AAIITO. Published by EDRA SpA. All rights reserved.MF is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the PhD Grant number SFRH/BD/145168/2019, cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020) through Fundo Social Europeu (FSE). JCR is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the Stimulus for Scientific Employment Individual Support (2020.01350.CEECIND)

Association between the density and type of trees around urban schools and exhaled nitric oxide levels in school children

Greenspaces in school's neighbourhood represent an important environment to promote healthy development. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the density and type of trees around schools and exhaled Nitric Oxide (NO) levels in schoolchildren. Data on 845 children from 20 primary schools in Porto was analysed. Airway inflammation was assessed by measuring exhaled NO level. The density and type of trees were quantified within a 500 m buffer around schools. Associations were estimated using mixed-effect models. A significant association was observed between non-tree covered areas around schools and exhaled NO levels in schoolchildren (β = - 1.42, 95% CI - 2.84, - 0.001). Our results suggested that the presence of trees in school neighbourhoods may play a role in the biological mechanisms underlying the complex links between environment and airway inflammation.Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by EXALAR 21 project financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Programme, and by national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the project info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/9471 - RIDTI/PTDC/GES-AMB/30193/2017/PT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030193, 02/SAICT/2017 - Project nº 30193). This study was also funded by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006862; Ref. UID/DTP/04750/2019)

Metabolic interactions in asthma

Metabolomics can be used to explore altered metabolic pathways in asthma, giving insights into its pathophysiology. We aimed to review how metabolomics has been used to understand asthma by describing metabolic pathways under research and discussing clinical implications. The search was performed in PubMed, and studies published since 2000 using a metabolomics approach, were included. A total of 32 studies were analysed. Pathways related with cellular energy homeostasis, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress, immune and inflammatory processes and others were altered. Initial studies focused on biomarker discovery. But, metabolomics can be used to evaluate drug effects on specific pathways, to highlight pathways that can further develop in new targeted treatments and to identify differences according to asthma severity and phenotypes.The authors acknowledge funding support by FCT - Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia, for the project ExPOSE - Establishing protocols to assess occupational exposure to microbiota in clinical settings (02/SAICT/2016, Project no. 23222)

The Influence of Obesity in the Autonomic Nervous System Activity in School-Aged Children in Northern Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Obesity is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in childhood, being an important public health issue. Excessive weight has been associated with autonomic dysfunction but the evidence in children is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of overweight and obesity on the autonomic nervous system activity, in children. Material and Methods: Data from a cross-sectional study of 1602 children, aged 7 to 12 years, was used and 858 children were included in the analysis. Body mass index was calculated and classified according to criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Body composition was characterized by bioelectrical impedance. Linear regression models were used to determine the association between body mass index, body composition and the autonomic nervous system activity, assessed by pupillometry. Results: Average dilation velocity was higher among children with obesity, according to the CDC and percentage of body fat criteria (ß = 0.053, 95% CI = 0.005 to 0.101 and ß = 0.063, 95% CI = 0.016 to 0.109, respectively). The same trend was observed for WHO and IOTF criteria (ß = 0.045, 95% CI = -0.001 to 0.091, and ß = 0.055, 95% CI = -0.001 to 0.111, respectively). CDC and WHO body mass index z-scores were also positively associated with the values of average dilation velocity (rs = 0.030, p = 0.048; and rs = 0.027, p = 0.042, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings suggest an association between body mass and changes in the autonomic activity, Moreover, this study provides proof of concept for interventions targeting the prevention/treatment of obesity in children that may offer some benefit in re-establishing the balance of the autonomic nervous system, and subsequently preventing the consequences associated with the autonomic nervous system dysfunction

Assessment and determinants of airborne bacterial and fungal concentrations in different indoor environments: Homes, child day-care centres, primary schools and elderly care centres

Until now the influence of risk factors resulting from exposure to biological agents in indoor air has been far less studied than outdoor pollution; therefore the uncertainty of health risks, and how to effectively prevent these, remains. This study aimed (i) to quantify airborne cultivable bacterial and fungal concentrations in four different types of indoor environment as well as to identify the recovered fungi; (ii) to assess the impact of outdoor bacterial and fungal concentrations on indoor air; (iii) to investigate the influence of carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and relative humidity on bacterial and fungal concentrations; and (iv) to estimate bacterial and fungal dose rate for children (3–5 years old and 8–10 years old) in comparison with the elderly. Air samples were collected in 68 homes, 9 child day-care centres, 20 primary schools and 22 elderly care centres, in a total of 264 rooms with a microbiological air sampler and using tryptic soy agar and malt extract agar culture media for bacteria and fungi growth, respectively. For each building, one outdoor representative location were identified and simultaneously studied. The results showed that child day-care centres were the indoor microenvironment with the highest median bacterial and fungal concentrations (3870 CFU/m3 and 415 CFU/m3, respectively), whereas the lowest median concentrations were observed in elderly care centres (222 CFU/m3 and 180 CFU/m3, respectively). Indoor bacterial concentrations were significantly higher than outdoor concentrations (p < 0.05); whereas the indoor/outdoor ratios for the obtained fungal concentrations were approximately around the unit. Indoor CO2 levels were associated with the bacterial concentration, probably due to occupancy and insufficient ventilation. Penicillium and Cladosporium were the most frequently occurring fungi. Children's had two times higher dose rate to biological pollutants when compared to adult individuals. Thus, due to children's susceptibility, special attention should be given to educational settings in order to guarantee their healthy future development

Asthma and body mass definitions affect estimates of association: evidence from a community-based cross-sectional survey

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Development and validation of exhaled breath condensate microRNAs to identify and endotype asthma in children

Detection and quantification of microRNAs (miRNAs) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has been poorly explored. Therefore we aimed to assess miRNAs in EBC as potential biomarkers to diagnose and endotype asthma in school aged children. In a cross sectional, nested case control study, all the asthmatic children (n = 71) and a random sample of controls (n = 115), aged 7 to 12 years, attending 71 classrooms from 20 local schools were selected and arbitrarily allocated to the development or validation set. Participants underwent skin-prick testing, spirometry with bronchodilation, had exhaled level of nitric oxide determined and EBC collected. Based on previous studies eleven miRNAs were chosen and analyzed in EBC by reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR. Principal component analysis was applied to identify miRNAs profiles and associations were estimated using regression models. In the development set (n = 89) two clusters of miRNAs were identified. After adjustments, cluster 1 and three of its clustered miRNAs, miR-126-3p, miR-133a-3p and miR-145-5p were positively associated with asthma. Moreover miR-21-5p was negatively associated with symptomatic asthma and positively associated with positive bronchodilation without symptoms. An association was also found between miR-126-3p, cluster 2 and one of its clustered miRNA, miR-146-5p, with higher FEF25-75 reversibility. These findings were confirmed in the validation set (n = 97) where two identical clusters of miRNAs were identified. Additional significant associations were observed between miR-155-5p with symptomatic asthma, negative bronchodilation with symptoms and positive bronchodilation without symptoms. We showed that microRNAs can be measured in EBC of children and may be used as potential biomarkers of asthma, assisting asthma endotype establishment.Authors gratefully acknowledge the funding by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000010 - Health, Comfort and Energy in the Built Environment (HEBE), cofinanced by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) and EXALAR 21 project financed by FEDER/FNR and by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (EXALAR 21 02/SAICT/2017 - Project nº 30193). FCM kindly acknowledges the scholarship SFRH/BD/144563/2019 granted by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, as well as the Fulbright Research Grant 2019/2020 granted by Fulbright Portugal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript