Short term physician visits and medication prescriptions for allergic disease associated with seasonal tree, grass, and weed pollen exposure across the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While year-round exposure to pollen is linked to a large burden of allergic diseases, location-specific risk information on pollen types and allergy outcomes are limited. We characterize the relationship between acute exposure to tree, grass and weed pollen taxa and two allergy outcomes (allergic rhinitis physician visit and prescription allergy medication fill) across 28 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the United States.

Methods

We obtained daily pollen data from National Allergy Bureau (NAB) monitors at these 28 MSAs for 2008-2015. We revised the NAB guidelines to classify taxa-specific pollen severity each day. Daily information on allergic rhinitis and prescribed allergy medications for individuals with employer-based health insurance from the IBM Mark

SUBMITTER: Saha S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8296728 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature