Effects of meteorological factors and atmospheric pollutants on the prevalence of respiratory adenovirus in children in Lanzhou, Northwest China

Climate change and air pollution have significantly influenced disease prevalence and transmission. Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common pathogen that causes acute respiratory infections in children. This study employed an ecological approach to investigate the relationship between HAdV infection in children in Lanzhou, Northwest China, and meteorological factors and air pollutants, aiming to deepen the understanding of environmental factors affecting viral transmission. Clinical specimens from children with acute respiratory infections were collected at a sentinel hospital in Lanzhou from January 1, 2023, to February 28, 2025, and were subjected to respiratory adenovirus nucleic acid testing. HAdV infection patterns were analyzed according to age, sex, and season. A combined approach of stepwise linear regression and generalized additive models (GAM) was employed to investigate the correlations between HAdV infection and meteorological factors/air pollutants from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2024. Between January 1, 2023, and February 28, 2025, a total of 1,339 throat swab specimens were collected from children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.48:1. The HAdV incidence rate in 2024 (11.23%) was higher than that in 2023 (5.45%). The HAdV incidence rates among male and female children were 5.15% and 3.73%, respectively. Preschool-and school-aged children exhibited higher incidence rates than infants and toddlers, at 3.29%, 3.36%, 0.75%, and 1.49%, respectively. HAdV circulated throughout all four seasons, with peak prevalence in autumn (2.28%) and winter (5.06%). HAdV incidence rates showed significant negative correlations with meteorological factors (air temperature, sunshine duration, wind speed), with correlation coefficients of: r = -0.6398 (95% CI: -0.8878, -0.1042), (P = 0.0250); r=-0.6376 (95% CI: -0.8870, -0.1005), (P = 0.0257); r=-0.6208 (95% CI: -0.8809, -0.07285), (P = 0.0312); showed significant positive correlations with atmospheric pollutants (CO, NO₂, and SO₂), with correlation coefficients of: r = 0.7610 (95% CI: 0.3321, 0.9291), (P = 0.0040); r = 0.6846 (95% CI: 0.1824, 0.9035), (P = 0.0140); r = 0.7162 (95% CI: 0.2147, 0.9143), (P = 0.0088); while exhibiting a significant negative correlation with atmospheric pollutant O₃, with a correlation coefficient of r = -0.6938 (95% CI: -0.9067, -0.1992), (P = 0.0123). GAM analysis revealed that meteorological factors (air temperature, sunshine duration, and wind speed) were all nonlinearly associated with adenovirus incidence rates. HAdV was detected at a higher rate in children in the preschool and school-age groups, and most cases were detected in the fall and winter seasons. The incidence rate of HAdV was negatively correlated with meteorological factors (temperature, hours of sunshine, and wind speed) and the atmospheric pollutant O₃, and positively correlated with atmospheric pollutants (CO, NO₂, and SO₂). The influence of these pollutants on the prevalence of HAdV infection should not be ignored.