Associations of Lifestyle, Ambient Air Pollution With Progression of Asthma in Adults: A Comprehensive Analysis of UK Biobank Cohort

Int J Public Health. 2024 Sep 25:69:1607640. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1607640. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Objectives: We aim to investigate the associations between lifestyle, ambient air pollution with crucial outcomes in the progression of adult asthma, including asthma new-onset and asthma hospitalisation.

Methods: 176,800 participants were included to assess the prospective association between baseline risk exposures and the subsequent asthma onset, 17,387 participants were used to evaluate asthma hospitalisation. Cox regression models were employed to examine the associations.

Results: In terms of lifestyle factors, the HRs (95% CIs) of the least healthy lifestyle categories for asthma incidence and hospitalization were 1.099 (1.017-1.187) and 1.064 (1.008-1.123), respectively. For pollutants, PM2.5, especially the traffic-related PM2.5 component, was consistently recognized as a significant risk factor for asthma onset (HR = 1.064, 95% CI: 1.034-1.094) and hospitalisation (HR = 1.031, 95% CI: 1.010-1.052) under various model adjustments. Low socioeconomic status also played a major role in the progression of adult asthma.

Conclusion: Our study provides crucial insights into factors influencing the progression of adult asthma. Monitoring and reducing exposure to air pollution, particularly PM2.5, promoting healthier lifestyle, and addressing socioeconomic inequity are important in preventing and managing asthma.

Keywords: ambient air pollution; asthma; lifestyle; socioeconomic status; two-pollutant model.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Air Pollutants / adverse effects
  • Air Pollutants / analysis
  • Air Pollution* / adverse effects
  • Asthma* / epidemiology
  • Asthma* / etiology
  • Biological Specimen Banks
  • Disease Progression*
  • Environmental Exposure / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Hospitalization* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Life Style*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Particulate Matter* / adverse effects
  • Particulate Matter* / analysis
  • Prospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • UK Biobank
  • United Kingdom / epidemiology

Substances

  • Particulate Matter
  • Air Pollutants

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 72374059) and the Basic Public Welfare Research Program of Zhejiang Province (grant number LGF22H260004).