Pollen count increases past medium or higher thresholds are associated with increased flare onset among some individuals with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS), according to a study published in The Journal of Urology. Researchers examined flare status every 2 weeks for 1 year to determine whether pollen triggers UCPPS flares. For the first three flares and at three randomly selected nonflare times, flare symptoms, flare start date, and exposures in the 3 days before a flare were queried. These data were linked to daily pollen count by date and location. Pollen count and rises past established thresholds were compared for the 3 days before and the day of a flare versus nonflare values. In addition, flare rates were estimated in the 3 weeks following pollen rises past established thresholds. The researchers observed no associations for daily pollen count with flare onset, but in participants with allergies or respiratory tract disorders, there were positive associations seen for pollen count increases past medium or higher thresholds in the casecrossover (odds ratio, 1.31) and full longitudinal (relative rate, 1.23) samples.
