Abstract

Predicting Daily Pollen/Mold Spore Levels in California Zip Codes
Track: Health and Human Services
Author(s): Estella Geraghty

Various pollens and mold spores have been found to be associated with acute respiratory irritation. In fact, increased ambient exposures to these allergens have been correlated with increased hospitalizations for asthma exacerbation in children. Many environmental studies focus on the effects of criteria pollutants to respiratory or other health problems. However, allergy-related respiratory complaints should also be analyzed as potential confounders and/or effect modifiers in these studies. This work summarizes the development of a spatial and temporal model to predict daily pollen and mold spore levels in California zip codes. The analysis makes use of pollen and mold spore count data provided by the National Allergy Bureau, meteorologic data including temperature and precipitation, and vegetation maps. Prediction tools such as this one will help researchers describe and quantify pollen and mold spore levels in clinically relevant categories.

Estella Geraghty
University of California, Davis
4150 V Street
PSSB Suite 2400
Sacramento , California 95817
United States
Phone: 916-734-5265
Fax: 916-734-2732
E-mail: DrGeraghty@aol.com