Common Household Chemicals and the Allergy Risks in Pre-School Age Children

Abstract

BackgroundThe risk of indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on allergic airway diseases in children remains unknown.ObjectiveWe examined the residential concentrations of VOCs, emitted from building materials, paints, furniture, and other lifestyle practices and the risks of multiple allergic diseases as well as the IgE-sensitization in pre-school age children in Sweden.MethodsIn a case-control investigation (198 case children with asthma and allergy and 202 healthy controls), air samples were collected in the room where the child slept. The air samples were analyzed for the levels of eight classes of VOCs.ResultsA natural-log unit of summed propylene glycol and glycol ethers (PGEs) in bedroom air (equal to interquartile range, or 3.43 – 15.65 µg/m3) was associated with 1.5-fold greater likelihood of being a case (95% CI, 1.1 – 2.1), 1.5-fold greater likelihood of asthma (95% CI, 1.0 – 2.3), 2.8-fold greater likelihood of rhinitis (95% CI, 1.6 – 4.7), and 1.6-fold greater likelihood of eczema (95% CI, 1.1 – 2.3), accounting for gender, secondhand smoke, allergies in both parents, wet cleaning with chemical agents, construction period of the building, limonene, cat and dog allergens, butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). When the analysis was restricted to the cases, the same unit concentration was associated with 1.8-fold greater likelihood of IgE-sensitization (95% CI, 1.1 – 2.8) compared to the non-IgE sensitized cases. No similar associations were found for the other classes of VOCs.ConclusionWe propose a novel hypothesis that PGEs in indoor air exacerbate and/or induce the multiple allergic symptoms, asthma, rhinitis and eczema, as well as IgE sensitization respectively.

Prenatal and early life home environment exposure in relation to preschool children’s asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema in Taiyuan, China

“…In seven out of 9 cities the average TVOC level was higher than the Chinese Indoor Air Quality Standard (GB/T 18883-2002) [25] of 0.6 mg/m 3 as an 8-hour average. Finally, modern chemicals including phthalates [12], and glycol ethers [13] emitted by indoor decorations and furniture have shown a strong association with asthma and allergies. In this study, 28.7% of families reported new decoration before children's birth and 31.6% new furniture, with more than 60% (64.6%) of children living in the current place since children's birth.…”

“…Prenatal exposure and early life factors have been less thoroughly studied [6]. Till now, studies have reported that prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke [7,8], presence of home mold odor [9], early life presence of particle-board furniture [10], pollen or spores [11], and new chemicals [12,13] were associated with respiratory symptoms, including asthma and allergic rhinitis, in children later in life.…”

Comparison of electronic cigarette refill fluid cytotoxicity using embryonic and adult models

“…However, even products we found to be non-cytotoxic may produce different, possibly stronger, effects when used repeatedly at full strength doses. As related examples, PG, which is "generally regarded as safe" and was non-cytotoxic for all cell types in the MTT assay, increased respiratory, throat and nasal symptoms, and cause vocal cord inflammation with prolonged inhalation by theater workers [24], and chronic exposure to PG in indoor air may induce or exacerbate allergic symptoms, asthma, and rhinitis [25].…”

Ten cities cross-sectional questionnaire survey of children asthma and other allergies in China

“…People spend a large part of their time indoors and pre-school children spend a longer time in homes compared with adults [15,16]. The indoor environment, especially in homes, has been implicated as having an important role in inducing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergies among children [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”