Clinic visits by patients suffering from ocular surface conditions doubled during times when environmental particles from air pollution were in the atmosphere, indicating a possible association between climate change and eye health, according to a new study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. .
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Clinical Ophthalmologyis one of the first to investigate how climate change can affect the eyes.
“The World Health Organization has declared climate change to be ‘the greatest health threat facing humanity,'” said the study’s lead author, Jennifer Patnaik, PhD, MHS, assistant professor of epidemiology and ophthalmology at the Faculty of Medicine. of Medicine at the University of Colorado. “Still, there are limited studies on the impact of climate change-related air pollution on eye health.”
Researchers, including associate professor Katherine James, PhD, who directs the Climate and Human Health program at the Colorado School of Public Health, examined associations between ocular surface irritation and daily outpatient office visits related to allergies with daily environmental particular matter (PM). levels in the Denver metropolitan area.
They obtained data on PM concentrations of 10 micrometers or less and 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. The researchers found 144,313 visits for ocular surface irritation and allergies to eye clinics during the study period. Daily visit count was 2.2 times higher than average when PM10 concentrations were 110. The clinic visit rate ratio increased as daily concentrations increased.
The study reported that conjunctivitis was the second most common eye disease among study clinic visits, accounting for exactly one-third of all visits. The prevalence of ocular allergic conjunctivitis has increased worldwide and varies by region. Socioeconomic and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and air pollution have been proposed as reasons for the increase.
Patnaik said the health risks of air pollution and climate change span a wide range of outcomes including infectious diseases, climate-related morbidity and a variety of lung, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.
“Lesser-studied chronic diseases, such as dementia, have also been shown to be associated with temperature and air pollutants,” he said. “Research on the topic of eye conditions and climate is still in its early stages; therefore, more studies are needed to better understand how climate and air pollutants affect eye health.”
James agreed.
“This study highlights the systemic health impacts of climate stressors, including air quality, wildfire, temperature and drought conditions, and the continued need for transdisciplinary research,” he said.
The researchers hope to build on and expand on these initial findings, said the study’s senior author, Malik Kahook, MD, professor of ophthalmology at the CU School of Medicine.
“These findings open the door to a deeper understanding of how environmental factors affect eye health. From a clinical standpoint, we are now seeing more evidence suggesting that airborne particles not only affect respiratory or cardiovascular health, but also directly impact the health of the ocular surface,” said Kahook. “Our next steps are to investigate how other air pollutants might influence eye health and expand our focus to areas outside of Colorado. In doing so, we intend to identify preventive strategies and consider new treatment protocols designed to address these environmental influences and ultimately ultimately, protect the most vulnerable patients in areas highly affected by contamination.”
Amy Dye-Robinson of CU Anschutz’s Department of Biostatistics and Informatics is a co-author of the study.