Pollen and viruses contribute to spatio-temporal variation in asthma-related emergency department visits

Asthma exacerbations are an important cause of emergency department visits but much remains unknown about the role of environmental triggers including viruses and allergenic pollen. A better understanding of spatio-temporal variation in exposure and risk posed by viruses and pollen types could help prioritize public health interventions. Here we quantify the effects of regionally important Cupressaceae pollen, tree pollen, other pollen types, rhinovirus, seasonal coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza on asthma-related emergency department visits for people living near eight pollen monitoring stations in Texas. We used age stratified Poisson regression analyses to quantify the effects of allergenic pollen and viruses on asthma-related emergency department visits. Young children (