Pollution linked to surge in eczema cases

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Air pollution caused by wildfires has been linked to a surge in eczema and dermatitis cases in North America, research shows.

Arianne Shadi Kourosh, from Harvard Medical School, said she saw patients with eczema worse than usual for summer months in Boston, Massachusetts, as it suffered the fallout from wildfires in Canada.

In August 2022 carbon monoxide levels in Boston were about 0.2 parts per million with around 20 dermatology clinic visits for dermatitis and eczema.

For the same period in 2023, carbon monoxide levels had tripled, and dermatology visits had risen eightfold, according to Dr Kourosh’s research.

“We were having patients come in with their eczema worse than usual, or in a couple of cases people with no history of the condition — and suddenly having skin inflammation,” she told The Times.

One extra aggravating factor with the wildfires is that fire retardants containing ammonium phosphates were used, which are known to contribute to dermatitis, and may have spread in the smoke plume.

There are possible mechanisms by which carbon monoxide might directly aggravate skin as an irritant. It also acts as a proxy for other pollutants though, such as fine particulates.

Dr Kourosh warned skin conditions could be aggravated by all forms of air pollution around the world - not just that caused by wildfires.

“Wildfires are one form of acute air pollution event. But what about the London smog? This paper really is about the broader issue of chronic and acute air pollution. This affects London, it affects China, it affects many places in the world,” she told the same newspaper.

In Spain, a study of 20,000 schoolchildren found a link between raised levels of some general air pollutants and eczema, as well as the expected respiratory complaints.

Chinese researchers also tracked 30,000 hospital visits and compared them with pollution levels, finding a similar link.

In August, smoke from more than 500 wildfires in Canada blanketed large areas across the country and caused “unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” air quality conditions for residents. More than 100 million people were under air quality alerts.