AAEM News:TEP: Influence of indoor factors in dwellings on the development of childhood asthma

[Guest guest]

PMID: 20851050 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Influence of indoor factors in dwellings on the development of childhood asthma

Heinrich J.

Helmholtz Zentrum München, National Research

Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Munich, Germany.

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2010 Sep 16.

Abstract

Asthma has become the most common, childhood

chronic disease in the industrialized world, and

it is also increasing in developing regions.

There are huge differences in the prevalence of

childhood asthma across countries and continents,

and there is no doubt that the prevalence of

asthma was strongly increasing during the past

decades worldwide. Asthma, as a complex disease,

has a broad spectrum of potential determinants

ranging from genetics to life style and

environmental factors. Environmental factors are

likely to be important in explaining the regional

differences and the overall increasing trend

towards asthma's prevalence. Among the

environmental conditions, indoor factors are of

particular interest because people spend more

than 80% of their time indoors globally.

Increasing prices for oil, gas and other sources

of primary energy will further lead to better

insulation of homes, and ultimately to reduced

energy costs. This will decrease air exchange

rates and will lower the dilution of indoor air

mass with ambient air. Indoor air quality and

potential health effects will therefore be an

area for future research and for gaining a better

understanding of asthma epidemics. This strategic

review will summarize the current knowledge of

the effects of a broad spectrum of indoor factors

on the development of asthma in childhood in

Western countries based on epidemiological

studies. In conclusion, several epidemiological

studies point out, that indoor factors might

cause asthma in childhood. Stronger and more

consistent findings are seen when exposure to

these indoor factors is assessed by surrogates

for the source of the actual toxicants.

Measurement-based exposure assessments for

several indoor factors are less common than using

surrogates of the exposure. These studies,

however, mainly showed heterogeneous results. The

most consistent finding for an induction of

asthma in childhood is related to exposure to

environmental tobacco smoke, to living in homes

close to busy roads, and in damp homes where are

visible moulds at home. The causing agents of the

increased risk of living in damp homes remained

uncertain and needs clarification. Exposure to

pet-derived allergens and house dust mites are

very commonly investigated and thought to be

related to asthma onset. The epidemiological

evidence is not sufficient to recommend avoidance

measures against pet and dust mites as preventive

activities against allergies. More research is

also needed to clarify the potential risk for

exposure to volatile and semi-volatile organic

compounds due to renovation activities,

phthalates and chlorine chemicals due to cleaning.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20851050>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/\

20851050

________________________________________________________________________________\

______________________________________

Contributed by Silvia K. Müller