Climate change among factors that can worsen symptoms for asthma sufferers

Twenty-two years ago, Richard Tovar had his first asthma attack.

He remembered that day in 2000 starting out normally, with him taking a stress test at his doctor's office. But later that night when he and his wife Kathryn went to bed in their Northland home, Tovar could barely breathe.

"It got to the point where my wife was extremely concerned about what was happening, and then she called 911," Tovar said.

Tovar was taken to the hospital, where he stayed for the next three days. Two of those days were spent in a medically-induced coma, he said. He was eventually diagnosed with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to years of heavy smoking.

Now 75, Tovar's lung conditions are under control thanks to the help of medication and the Breathing Association, a Columbus-based nonprofit group that provides services for low-income people who have asthma and other lung conditions.

Tovar and his wife, who also has COPD, visit the association's clinic a few times a year for checkups and updated prescriptions.

However, there are times like allergy season when his symptoms can flare up.

"Sometimes I'll feel a strain in my chest, my lungs will tell me to slow down," Tovar said. "For instance, if I'm out working in the backyard cutting the grass and doing maintenance stuff around the house."

Asthma and climate change: How the two are related

About 25 million people in the U.S. have asthma, or about one in 13 people, according to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (AAFA). While the condition can be hereditary or caused by factors such as respiratory infections and cigarette smoke, the environment can also play a role in people developing asthma.

Climate change, which affects air and water pollution, and ground-level ozone and other air pollutants can trigger asthma flare-ups. Ground-level ozone is created by a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxide and organic compounds when exposed to sunlight and can be emitted from industrial facilities, motor vehicle exhaust and gasoline fumes, according to the AAFA.

People with asthma can also be triggered by an increase in allergens due to climate change. Warmer temperatures increase the concentration of pollen in the air, extending the pollen season, said Dr. Jing Wang, a physician who specializes in pulmonary diseases at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center.

"Plants adapt and they change to the changes in the weather so that they produce more potent pollen," she said. "So, things like ragweed, tree grass, other allergens are hanging around longer.

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Hot and cold temperatures can trigger asthma symptoms

Wang, who works at Ohio State's Martha Morehouse Outpatient Care Center on the Northwest Side and at OSU's Outpatient Care East on the Near East Side, usually sees about 15 asthma patients a week. She said this summer's hot weather in Greater Columbus has worsened asthma control for some patients.

July was the third-warmest on record in the U.S., and the 76.4-degree average temperature was nearly 3 degrees above normal, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In Columbus, the average high temperature for the month was 85 degrees, which was slightly above normal, according to the National Weather Service.

"We know that extreme heat events can increase the risk of needing to go to the hospital," Wang said. "And then the heat that we're dealing with, the overall warmer temperatures and global warming facilitates more smog formation at ground level. Smog is obviously a significant air pollutant and the pollution can worsen symptoms of asthma. It can increase your risk of asthma attacks and it just leads to worse control in general."

Cold temperatures during the winter can also aggravate a person's asthma, Wang said. Cold, dry air can narrow your airways, causing coughing and wheezing.

Wang said climate change disproportionately affects people of color, which are the majority of her asthma patients.

According to the AAFA, Black adults have the highest asthma rates in the country, and are nearly five times more likely than white adults to visit the emergency department for the condition.

"They have less access to health care," Wang said. "In cases of things like floods and droughts, they're the ones who struggle with being able to evacuate an area. It means that they are a particularly disadvantaged group, unfortunately, and it affects a large portion of the population."

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Climate change can affect childhood asthma, too

Rebecca Koenigsberg, an allergy and immunology fellow at Nationwide Children's Hospital, said environmental factors such as air pollution and extreme temperatures can affect children with asthma as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 6 million children in the U.S. have asthma, with 1 in 6 children visiting the emergency department every year.

"Over recent years, we are seeing an increase in things like pollen release, respiratory infections and air irritants from things like large fires," she said. "But it is not yet clear to what extent each of these are specifically worsening respiratory health or asthma specifically, but they definitely all interplay with each other."

To help kids manage their asthma, Koenigsberg said she works with families to prevent triggers such as wheezing and shortness of breath. Additionally, she makes sure that children have medication like rescue inhalers when they do have a flare up.

"I would encourage anybody with questions about their child's breathing to talk to their child's doctor to best make a plan together," Koenigsberg said.

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Organizations like Breathing Association can help people manage asthma

Along with doctors helping asthma patients manage their symptoms, there are organizations like the Breathing Association that can also assist asthmatic people.

Community Outreach Director David Jeffries said the organization operates a clinic inside the Columbus Urban League building in King-Lincoln Bronzeville as well as a mobile medical unit. Their medical team offers services such as diagnosis of lung diseases and treating allergen symptoms and respiratory infections. They also have a medication assistance program for those who can't afford to buy inhalers and other medications.

While strategic efforts might help to mitigate the impact of climate change over the long-term, Jeffries said he doesn't see the situation getting better anytime soon and so he does the best he can to manage his symptoms.

"The way the climate is, places are getting hotter now and longer, so I don't see where there's going to be a big change," Jeffries said. "It's still an issue."

mwalker@dispatch.com

@micah_walker701

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Asthma and climate change: How Columbus-area residents are affected