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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Allergy
Sec. Asthma
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1483430

Association of humidity and precipitation with asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Wangyang Gu Wangyang Gu 1,2Dan Xie Dan Xie 1,2Qinpeng Li Qinpeng Li 1,2Huike Feng Huike Feng 1,2Yihao Xue Yihao Xue 1,2Yang Chen Yang Chen 3Jingyi Tang Jingyi Tang 3Yushi Zhou Yushi Zhou 1,2Dan Wang Dan Wang 1,2Shilu Tong Shilu Tong 4,5Shijian Liu Shijian Liu 1,2,3,6*
  • 1 Sanya Women and Children’s Hospital, Hainan Medical University, Sanya, China
  • 2 Hainan Branch, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China
  • 3 School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • 4 School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • 5 National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
  • 6 Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sanya, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The relationship of asthma with humidity and precipitation remains controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of increased humidity and precipitation with asthma risk. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted across various databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Wanfang, CQVIP, and CNKI. A total of 21 studies with 1,052,960 participants from 9 countries or regions were included. The fixed and random effect model were used to analyze the data. The study revealed a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 1.0489 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0061, 1.0935) for the association between humidity and asthma risk. Specifically, among individuals under 18 years of age, the OR (95% CI) was 1.0898 (1.0290, 1.1541). Furthermore, the OR (95% CI) for developing countries or regions was 1.0927(1.0220, 1.1684), while it was 1.1298(0.9502, 1.3433) for regions with a high latitude (41-51°). The pooled OR for precipitation and asthma risk was 0.9991(0.9987, 0.9995). The OR (95%CI) values were 0.9991(0.9987, 0.9995), 0.9991(0.9987, 0.9995) and 0.9990(0.9986, 0.9994) in people above the age of 18, developing countries or regions, and middle latitudes (31-41°), respectively. The impact of humidity on asthma risk is particularly pronounced among individuals below 18 years of age, people living in developing countries or regions and in regions located in high latitudes. And the influence of precipitation on asthma persons over the age of 18, developing countries or regions, and middle latitudes significantly. Increased humidity appears to elevate asthma risk, and increased precipitation may reduce the risk. In addition, there appears to be a combined effect of humidity and precipitation on asthma.

    Keywords: Humidity, precipitation, Asthma, Systematic review, Meta-analysis

    Received: 21 Aug 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gu, Xie, Li, Feng, Xue, Chen, Tang, Zhou, Wang, Tong and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shijian Liu, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.