Syed Muarraf Hussain, Saadat Ali Khan, Seemi Gull, Syeda Maria Ali, Nelofar Irfan, Nauman Bashir.
Effect of high air-borne pollen count on first degree asymptomatic relatives of asthmatic patients.
J Rawal Med Coll Jan ;16(2):90-3.

Background: To correlate pollen count with pulmonary function tests in first degree asymptomatic relatives of asthmatic patients as well as in asthmatic patients as control sharing common genetic and environmental exposure. Methods: The study was cross-sectional comparative comprising of 120 subjects, of whom 60 were the first degree asymptomatic relatives of non-asthmatic patients. Portable office spirometry was carried out along with pollen count on the same day taken from the meterological department data. Result: The spirometric variables like PEFR, FEV1, FEV6 and FEV1/FEV6 were deranged as pollen count increased. The changes in these variables were found to be present before development of clinical signs and symptoms of pollen allergy. Conclusion: High risk individuals like first-degree relatives not having symptoms of pollen allergy show decrement in pulmonary function tests parameters during high pollen count seasons.

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