By Mary Brophy Marcus
From USAToday
Global warming could be notching up allergies and extending allergy season around the world, recent research suggests.
In one study, discussed this month at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans, researchers tracked season duration and prevalence of sensitizations for five types of pollens in one region of Italy from 1981 to 2007. They reported that over time, there was a progressive increase in the duration of some pollen seasons.
"Allergies and asthma seem to be increasing everywhere, and we don't know why that is," says David Rosenstreich, director of the division of allergy and immunology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. Rosenstreich says global warming probably is not the only culprit; many factors seem to be coming together to create a "perfect storm of allergy and asthma."
He points to the changing geography of New York as an example. Just north of the Bronx lies a solid blanket of woods for 100 miles. "There are more trees in that area now than there were 100 years ago. It used to be all farms. Now, in spring, right smack in the middle of the Bronx, we have an enormous amount of pollen blowing in — a huge epidemic of asthma and allergies every spring that the hospitals prepare for."
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