The relationship between food and skin allergy in children and adolescents and atmospheric air pollution in Bielsko-Biala

Introduction:
The increase in the incidence of allergic diseases is also caused by environmental conditions, including air pollution. In Europe and the USA, the incidence of food allergies is 6% and 8% of children, respectively. In 2023, the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (GIOŚ) stated that the air quality is much better compared to the previous 5 years.

Aim:
To determine the relationship between the level of atmospheric air pollution in Bielsko-Biala in 2018–2022 (nitrogen dioxide, suspended dust PM2.5 and PM10 and benzo(a)pyrene and the incidence of food and skin allergies among children and adolescents from 0 to 18 years of age.

Material and methods:
Based on data from the Department of Health of the Silesian Voivodeship Office in Katowice, tables were prepared to illustrate the incidence of allergic contact dermatitis caused by substances introduced into the body (L 27) and allergic food inflammation of the stomach, small intestine and colon (K 52.2). In order to correlate the average annual concentrations of selected air pollutants and the incidence of food and skin allergies, the Statistica 13.6.0.064 (0616) program and Pearson correlation coefficients were used.

Results:
The incidence of food and skin allergies is decreasing and is 164.4/10,000 in 2018 and 150.6/10,000 in 2022 for food allergies and 197.3/10,000 in 2018 and 181.1/10,000 in 2022 for skin allergies. The average annual concentration of PM10 and benzo(a)pyrene is decreasing.

Conclusions:
In the analyzed time period, the discussed average annual concentrations of substances were not exceeded. The decreasing incidence of both food and skin allergies is related to the improvement in atmospheric air quality.