Association of Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter with Skin Symptoms in Schoolchildren: A Panel Study in a Rural Area of Western Japan

Numerous studies have unmasked the deleterious effects of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) on health. However, epidemiologic evidence focusing on the effects of PM(2.5) on skin health remains limited. An important aspect of Asian dust (AD) in relationship to health is the amount of PM(2.5) contained therein. Several studies have demonstrated that AD can aggravate skin symptoms. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of short-term exposure to PM(2.5) and AD particles on skin symptoms in schoolchildren. A total of 339 children recorded daily skin symptom scores during February 2015. Light detection and ranging were used to calculate AD particle size. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations among skin symptoms and the daily levels of PM(2.5) and AD particles. Increases in the levels of PM(2.5) and AD particles were not related to an increased risk of skin symptom events, with increases of 10.1 μg/m(3) in PM(2.5) and 0.01 km(−1) in AD particles changing odds ratios by 1.03 and 0.99, respectively. These results suggest that short-term exposure to PM(2.5) and AD does not impact skin symptoms in schoolchildren.