Atmospheric factors related to the production of anti-allergic drugs in Japan

Abstract Background: It is known that atmospheric conditions such as photochemical oxidants and meteorological factors are closely related to the induction of allergic symptoms. Therefore, they may be relevant to the demand for anti-allergic drugs and, consequently, to their production. Methods: To clarify the relationship between anti-allergic drugs production in Japan and atmospheric conditions such as photochemical oxidants, ambient temperature and relative humidity, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were performed. Results: Stepwise multiple regression analysis with anti-allergic drugs production as the objective variable, smoking rate, photochemical oxidants, ambient temperature and relative humidity as explanatory variables, revealed that photochemical oxidants and relative humidity were significant independent variables. Conclusion: Present study suggests that atmospheric conditions such as photochemical oxidants and relative humidity may be associated with the anti-allergic drugs production. Keywords: anti-allergic drugs production; photochemical oxidants; ambient temperature; relative humidity