Evidence that indoor dampness and mold growth are associated with respiratory health has been accumulating, but few studies have been able to examine health risks in relation to measured levels of indoor mold exposure. In particular, little is known about the contribution of indoor molds to the development of allergic sensitization. As a part of an ongoing study examining the effects of ambient air pollutants on respiratory health and atopic diseases in German school children, we examined the relation between viable mold levels indoors and allergic sensitization in 272 children. We examined whether allergic sensitization in children is associated with higher fungal spore count in settled house dust sampled from living room floors. Adjusting for age, sex, parental education, region of residency, and parental history of atopy, we found that mold spore counts for Cladosporium and Aspergillus were associated with an increased risk of allergic sensitization. Sensitized children exposed to high levels of mold spores (> 90th percentile) were more likely to suffer from symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis. We conclude that elevated indoor concentrations of molds in wintertime might play a role in increasing the risk of developing atopic symptoms and allergic sensitization not only to molds but also to other common, inhaled allergens. These effects were strongest in the group of children who had lived in the same home since birth.

The authors investigated the relationship between respiratory symptoms in adults and exposure to mite and cat allergens, the role of endotoxins in house dust, the effects of mixtures of several allergens, and interactions between allergen exposure and allergic sensitization.Within a nested case-control study, 405 subjects aged 25–50 yrs from two German cities answered a standardized questionnaire. Allergen-specific immunoglobulin-E was measured. Dust samples were taken from the subjects' homes to determine exposure to mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinusantigen 1Der p1) and (D. farinaeantigen 1Der f1) and cat (cat antigen d1Fel d1) allergen and endotoxin content in settled house dust.Exposure toDer f1 andDer p1 plusDer f1 >10 µg·g−1of mattress dust, respectively, increased the risk of wheeze and breathlessness (odds ratios (OR): 4.04, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.53–10.64, OR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.06–7.28).Fel d1 >8 µg·g−1was positively associated with cough at night (OR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.22–6.17), noteworthy also in the nonsensitized subjects. Subjects exposed to elevated concentrations of more than one allergen had an up to seven-fold increase in the risk of respiratory symptoms, compared to nonexposed subjects. Sensitized subjects exposed to elevated concentrations ofDer f1 orFel d1 were found to have the highest risk of asthma attacks and respiratory symptoms. No statistically significant association was found between exposure to endotoxins and respiratory health.Indoor exposure toDermatophagoides farinaeantigen 1 and cat antigen d1 is a risk factor for respiratory symptoms in adults, and for cat antigen d 1 even in nonsensitized subjects. The risk is increased if subjects are exposed to a mixture of allergens or if they are sensitized in addition to high exposure.

No abstract

Since differences in the T cell cytokine production of neonates in Munich and Leipzig are independent from FAH our findings may provide evidence for the impact of environmental factors upon the fetal immune system.

No abstract