Effects of thunderstorm weather and pollen on respiratory allergic diseases

Thunderstorm weather and elevated pollen concentrations significantly impact the risk of respiratory allergic diseases, including thunderstorm asthma (TA). We investigated the effect of pollen concentration on outpatient visits for respiratory allergic diseases during thunderstorm events using meteorological, pollen, and allergy clinic data from Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, China (2020-2022). We employed a generalized additive model (GAM) and Poisson regression to analyze these data. Our results indicate that lightning activity can increase the exposure risk among susceptible individuals by raising pollen concentrations on the day of thunderstorm occurrence and for the subsequent 2 days. Daytime Lightning has a more pronounced effect on TA incidence. Further analysis of lightning parameters - current intensity, return-strike steepness, number of flashes, and flash distance - revealed that the relative risk of pollen concentration on TA is higher under conditions of low current intensity and high return-strike steepness. Additionally, diurnal analysis demonstrated that daytime lightning events have a greater impact on TA compared to those occurring at night. These findings are critical for the development of public health strategies and early warning systems. They can assist relevant authorities in implementing preventive measures before and after thunderstorms to mitigate TA events.