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Synergistic Effects of Air Pollutants and Extreme Temperature on Asthma: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Evidence
Summary
This review pulls together existing research showing that air pollution, extreme heat or cold, and even microplastics don't just each harm your lungs on their own—they team up to make asthma worse than any single factor would alone, likely by triggering inflammation and stress in airway cells. This matters because as climate change intensifies both pollution and temperature extremes, the real-world risk to asthma sufferers may be higher than studies looking at just one factor suggest, meaning future health guidelines may need to address these combined exposures together rather than one at a time.
Global climate change and air pollution jointly threaten respiratory health. Asthma, a prevalent chronic inflammatory airway disease, is exacerbated by both traditional air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and emerging contaminants like microplastics (MPs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with effects amplified under extreme temperature conditions. In reality, individuals face complex combined exposures, yet the synergistic effects of these factors on asthma pathogenesis remain poorly understood. This narrative review synthesizes epidemiological and toxicological evidence. It aims to elucidate both the individual and the notably synergistic effects of these factors on asthma pathogenesis. The central mechanistic pathway is initiated by oxidative stress, which activates key inflammatory signaling pathways, thereby driving immune imbalance and airway inflammation. Our review underscores that the combined exposure to traditional pollutants, emerging pollutants, and extreme temperatures may pose a greater threat than individual factors. These findings underscore the critical need for an integrated perspective in asthma research and public health policy. Moving beyond single-pollutant approaches, we advocate for combinatorial risk assessment and synergistic intervention strategies to effectively mitigate the growing burden of asthma in a changing climate.