Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era
For >2 years, Japan’s government has been urging the populace to take countermeasures to prevent COVID-19, including mask wearing. We examined whether these preventive behaviors have affected the rate and degree of sensitization against pollen and house dust antigens in patients with allergic rhi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1000 |
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| author | Takashi Oda Fumiaki Maeda Sachio Takeno Yuri Tsuru Chie Ishikawa Takashi Ishino Kota Takemoto Takao Hamamoto Tsutomu Ueda Tomohiro Kawasumi Hiroshi Iwamoto Kazunori Kubota Yoshio Nakao Masaru Kunimoto |
| author_facet | Takashi Oda Fumiaki Maeda Sachio Takeno Yuri Tsuru Chie Ishikawa Takashi Ishino Kota Takemoto Takao Hamamoto Tsutomu Ueda Tomohiro Kawasumi Hiroshi Iwamoto Kazunori Kubota Yoshio Nakao Masaru Kunimoto |
| author_sort | Takashi Oda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For >2 years, Japan’s government has been urging the populace to take countermeasures to prevent COVID-19, including mask wearing. We examined whether these preventive behaviors have affected the rate and degree of sensitization against pollen and house dust antigens in patients with allergic rhinitis. We retrospectively surveyed 2565 patients who had undergone allergy blood testing during the period 2015–2021. We subdivided this period into eras based on the COVID-19 pandemic: the pre-COVID (2015–2019, n = 1879) and COVID (2020–2021, n = 686) eras. The positive rates for Japanese cedar and cypress in the 40–59-year-olds and those for house dust in the 20–39-year-olds were significantly reduced in the COVID era versus those in the pre-COVID era. Each group’s mean antigen-specific CAP scores decreased significantly from the 1st to 2nd era: from 1.98 to 1.57 for cedar (<i>p</i> < 0.01), 1.42 to 0.95 for cypress (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and 2.86 to 2.07 for house dust (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Our survey of the patients’ clinical records indicates that 47.5% of the pollinosis patients reported improvement in nasal symptoms after the three seasons of pollen dispersion in the COVID era. Japan’s quarantine policies designed to combat the spread of COVID-19 thus coincide with pivotal measures to alleviate allergic reactions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:15:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ae38fd3d39b4d4c8200f2917cfd705e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:15:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ae38fd3d39b4d4c8200f2917cfd705e2023-11-30T22:46:14ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-06-01137100010.3390/atmos13071000Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 EraTakashi Oda0Fumiaki Maeda1Sachio Takeno2Yuri Tsuru3Chie Ishikawa4Takashi Ishino5Kota Takemoto6Takao Hamamoto7Tsutomu Ueda8Tomohiro Kawasumi9Hiroshi Iwamoto10Kazunori Kubota11Yoshio Nakao12Masaru Kunimoto13Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanDepartment of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanKubota ENT and Allergy Clinic, Hiroshima 731-5141, JapanNakao ENT and Allergy Clinic, Hiroshima 730-0823, JapanDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8551, JapanFor >2 years, Japan’s government has been urging the populace to take countermeasures to prevent COVID-19, including mask wearing. We examined whether these preventive behaviors have affected the rate and degree of sensitization against pollen and house dust antigens in patients with allergic rhinitis. We retrospectively surveyed 2565 patients who had undergone allergy blood testing during the period 2015–2021. We subdivided this period into eras based on the COVID-19 pandemic: the pre-COVID (2015–2019, n = 1879) and COVID (2020–2021, n = 686) eras. The positive rates for Japanese cedar and cypress in the 40–59-year-olds and those for house dust in the 20–39-year-olds were significantly reduced in the COVID era versus those in the pre-COVID era. Each group’s mean antigen-specific CAP scores decreased significantly from the 1st to 2nd era: from 1.98 to 1.57 for cedar (<i>p</i> < 0.01), 1.42 to 0.95 for cypress (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and 2.86 to 2.07 for house dust (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Our survey of the patients’ clinical records indicates that 47.5% of the pollinosis patients reported improvement in nasal symptoms after the three seasons of pollen dispersion in the COVID era. Japan’s quarantine policies designed to combat the spread of COVID-19 thus coincide with pivotal measures to alleviate allergic reactions.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1000allergic rhinitisface maskCOVID-19house dust miteJapanese cedar pollenJapanese cypress pollen |
| spellingShingle | Takashi Oda Fumiaki Maeda Sachio Takeno Yuri Tsuru Chie Ishikawa Takashi Ishino Kota Takemoto Takao Hamamoto Tsutomu Ueda Tomohiro Kawasumi Hiroshi Iwamoto Kazunori Kubota Yoshio Nakao Masaru Kunimoto Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era Atmosphere allergic rhinitis face mask COVID-19 house dust mite Japanese cedar pollen Japanese cypress pollen |
| title | Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era |
| title_full | Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era |
| title_short | Impact of Preventive Measures on Subjective Symptoms and Antigen Sensitization against Japanese Cedar, Cypress Pollen and House Dust Mites in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: A Retrospective Analysis in the COVID-19 Era |
| title_sort | impact of preventive measures on subjective symptoms and antigen sensitization against japanese cedar cypress pollen and house dust mites in patients with allergic rhinitis a retrospective analysis in the covid 19 era |
| topic | allergic rhinitis face mask COVID-19 house dust mite Japanese cedar pollen Japanese cypress pollen |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/1000 |
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