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Respiratory Health Impacts from Natural Disasters and Other Extreme Weather Events: The Role of Environmental Stressors on Asthma and Allergies
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This review looked at how natural disasters and extreme weather events, including wildfires, floods, and heat waves, are worsening respiratory conditions like asthma and allergies. Researchers found that these events release environmental stressors including microplastics and PFAS chemicals that can trigger lung inflammation and immune disruption. The study suggests that as extreme weather becomes more frequent, understanding these exposure pathways is increasingly important for protecting respiratory health.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The frequency of natural disasters, other extreme weather events, and downstream emissions of emerging contaminants is increasing. One category of health outcome that is now experiencing increased prevalence due to these environmental threats is respiratory disease, specifically asthma and allergies; though a review summarizing current knowledge and research gaps has not been synthesized on this topic in recent years despite growing evidence. RECENT FINDINGS: We identified recent literature that connects allergy/asthma with environmental events that are increasing in prevalence alongside natural disasters and other extreme weather events, including algal blooms, floods, heat stress, wildfires, and thunderstorms. Coinciding emissions of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics (MPs) are also discussed as downstream outcomes of these environmental events. Available evidence ranged according to environmental event/stressor type, with over 50 papers identified as relevant to this research scope in the last five years. Narrative synthesis of these papers highlighted exposure-disease linkages for stressors related to natural disasters, other extreme weather events, and downstream emissions of emerging contaminants with pulmonary asthma and allergy outcomes. Underlying biological mechanisms are beginning to be elucidated and include widespread inflammation in the lungs and changes in immune cell signaling and function across the pulmonary system. Take home points in this review pave the way for future investigations to better understand the impacts of these environmental events amongst the complex milieu of threats becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide.
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Synergistic Effects of Air Pollutants and Extreme Temperature on Asthma: A Narrative Review of Mechanisms and Evidence
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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.
Emerging environmental exposures and pulmonary diseases
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This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics, certain chemicals (PFAS), indoor air pollution, and pesticides may affect the lungs. It found links to airway inflammation and conditions like asthma and lung cancer, but noted that human data are limited and more research is needed to understand actual exposure risks.
Microplastics as environmental modifiers of lung disease
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This review examines growing evidence that inhaled microplastics may contribute to lung diseases including asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Researchers found that different plastic types, sizes, and weathering states can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and cellular changes in lung tissue, suggesting microplastics may act as environmental modifiers that worsen respiratory conditions.
Progress in understanding the impact of microplastics on respiratory allergic diseases
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This review synthesized evidence on how airborne microplastics may affect respiratory allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and asthma. Researchers found that inhaled microplastics can compromise airway barriers by disrupting tight junctions, impairing mucus clearance, and weakening mucosal defenses. The study suggests that microplastic characteristics like polymer type, particle size, and surface chemistry influence how they initiate or worsen respiratory allergic responses.
ERS International Congress 2022: highlights from the Basic and Translational Science Assembly
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This review highlights key findings from the 2022 European Respiratory Society Congress on how climate change, air pollution, microplastics, and early-life events affect respiratory health, alongside advances in the Human Lung Cell Atlas, cell death pathways in lung disease, and novel asthma therapies.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.