Greater Fine Particulate Matter Linked to Increased Odds of Eczema

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The odds of eczema are increased with greater exposure to fine particulate matter of diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM_2.5), according to a study published online Nov. 13 in PLOS ONE.

Gloria F. Chen, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined the risk for eczema with PM_2.5 exposure in a diverse national cohort of American adults in a cross-sectional study. Eczema cases in the All of Us Research Program were linked via three-digit zip code to average annual PM_2.5 concentrations from the Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions.

The researchers found that the 12,695 individuals with eczema lived in areas with significantly higher PM_2.5 concentrations than the 274,127 without eczema (0.83 versus 0.81 x 10 µg/m³). In a univariate analysis, PM_2.5 concentration was significantly associated with eczema (odds ratio, 1.97); the findings persisted in multivariable analyses after controlling for demographics and smoking status (odds ratio, 2.21) and with the addition of atopic comorbidities (odds ratio, 2.38).

"Our finding of an approximately twofold increased risk of eczema per 10 μg/m³ rise in PM_2.5 is clinically relevant as well as actionable, as the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index is based on differences in PM_2.5 concentrations of comparable orders of magnitude," the authors write.

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