The Effect of Long-Term Exposure to O3 and PM2.5 on Allergies and Asthma in Adolescents and Young Adults

Using data on the children of the respondents who participated in Wave IV (2008) and Wave V (2016–2018) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we estimate the effect of long-term exposure to ozone (O3) and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) on diagnoses of allergies and asthma in adolescence and young adulthood. Estimates from individual-level fixed-effect models with time-varying controls show that exposure to PM2.5 and O3 is associated with higher likelihood of asthma and allergies in females at younger ages (10–12 years old) and allergies in males at older ages (13 years old and above). These findings are novel and contribute to the growing body of literature exploring gender and age differences in susceptibility to asthma and allergies.