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Review

Greenspace and Atopic Sensitization in Children and Adolescents—A Systematic Review

1
School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, 3086 Bundoora, Australia
2
Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 3000 Melbourne, Australia
3
National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy 20000, Sri Lanka
4
Behaviour, Environment and Cognition Research Program, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, 3065 Fitzroy, Australia
5
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, La Trobe University, 3086 Bundoora, Australia
6
Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Clinical Center, Ludwig Maximilians University, Comprehensive Pneumology Centre Munich, German Centre for Lung Research, Ziemssenstrasse, 80336 Munich, Germany
7
School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 3004 Melbourne, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(11), 2539; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112539
Received: 10 September 2018 / Revised: 1 November 2018 / Accepted: 9 November 2018 / Published: 13 November 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Epidemiology of Allergy)
In the last decade, studies investigating greenspace have highlighted several benefits to human health. However, the effect of greenspace on allergies and atopic sensitization in children was not clear. While several studies have investigated this link, the evidence has not been systematically synthesized. We conducted a systematic search of eight databases. Study characteristics and findings were extracted from five articles covering 11 cohorts published between 2012 and 2016, and study quality assessments were performed. Due to significant heterogeneity, meta-analysis was not conducted. Findings were not consistent, possibly due to variations in exposure measurements, study populations and location, the specific allergens tested, and inclusion of confounders. Protective effects from greenspace were reported in four cohorts, while two cohorts showed an increase in sensitization related to greenspace. The other five cohorts found no significant effect of greenspace on atopic sensitization. There is limited understanding of the contributions of greenspace to specific allergens. Future research should consider amount and type of greenspace, as well as the specific allergens tested. View Full-Text
Keywords: atopy; IgE; skin prick; greenness atopy; IgE; skin prick; greenness
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MDPI and ACS Style

Lambert, K.A.; Bowatte, G.; Tham, R.; Lodge, C.J.; Prendergast, L.A.; Heinrich, J.; Abramson, M.J.; Dharmage, S.C.; Erbas, B. Greenspace and Atopic Sensitization in Children and Adolescents—A Systematic Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112539

AMA Style

Lambert KA, Bowatte G, Tham R, Lodge CJ, Prendergast LA, Heinrich J, Abramson MJ, Dharmage SC, Erbas B. Greenspace and Atopic Sensitization in Children and Adolescents—A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(11):2539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112539

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lambert, Katrina A., Gayan Bowatte, Rachel Tham, Caroline J. Lodge, Luke A. Prendergast, Joachim Heinrich, Michael J. Abramson, Shyamali C. Dharmage, and Bircan Erbas. 2018. "Greenspace and Atopic Sensitization in Children and Adolescents—A Systematic Review" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 11: 2539. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112539

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