Effects of Housing Characteristics and Home Environmental Factors on Respiratory Symptoms of 10,784 Elementary School Children from Northeast China

Abstract

Background: Only few studies have assessed the relative impact of housing characteristics and home environmental factors on asthma and asthma-related symptoms in Chinese children, and to our knowledge, few studies have elaborated respiratory symptoms and allergies in this context. Objective: It was the aim of this study to assess the effects of housing characteristics, pet keeping, home decorations and other indoor environmental factors on respiratory health of Chinese children. Methods: We studied 10,784 children (6–13 years old) from 12 districts in Liaoning province, Northeast China. Information on respiratory health, housing characteristics and environmental pollution was obtained by a standard questionnaire from the American Thoracic Society. Results: Prevalence of asthma-related symptoms was higher for those living along the main stem of traffic, and for those with a house nearby a pollution source. Lower prevalence rates of respiratory morbidity were associated with households with a bigger area of residence and more rooms. Pet keeping was associated with doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.25–1.84). Home decorations also increased the risk of doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR = 1.72; 95% CI 1.45–2.04) and current asthma (OR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.06–1.93). Environmental tobacco smoke, pests and visible mold on walls were associated with the occurrence of asthma symptoms. Conclusion: Home environmental factors are particularly important for the development of respiratory morbidity among children.

Housing characteristics and indoor environment in relation to children’s asthma, allergic diseases and pneumonia in Urumqi, China

“…This finding was consistent with the cross-sectional study of 14077 Swedish children aged 1-6 years, which reported four "dampness" indices including visible molds and windowpane condensation were associated with children's asthma, rhinitis and eczema symptoms [21]. In China, Dong et al [22][23][24] reported that signs in the home of water damage or visible mold on walls were positively associated with children's asthma symptoms in preschool children and elementary children in northeastern area of China. A recently published 10-year longitudinal study of adults in Uppsala, Sweden, found that signs of dampness in floor construction of any workplace building during follow up (cumulative exposure) were associated with incidence of mucosal symptoms (OR=2.43) including nasal catarrh, nasal obstruction, dryness in throat, sore throat or irritating cough [25].…”

“…Home decoration and building materials have been reported in relation with children's respiratory symptoms in different areas in the world [24,31,32]. In this study, floors surfaced by wood, PVC or carpeting (totally accounting for 44.7%); or walls surfaced by wood, wallpaper or painting (totally accounting for 80.7%), were common, and were both positively associated with children's AR symptoms in the last 12 months.…”

Association between domestic mould and mould components, and asthma and allergy in children: a systematic review

“…DIJKSTRA [29] DALES [16] DALES [32] PONSONBY [18] ZHENG [27] CHEN [25] FREEMAN [20] FREEMAN substudy [20] SPENGLER [19] PEKKANEN [33] DONG [17] DONG [22] ANTOVA [15] WARMAN [24] Summary (OR FAGBULE [34] VERHOEFF [31] LI [26] LI [35] MAIER [28] BRUNEKREEF [23] BRUNEKREEF [23] BRUNEKREEF [21] STRACHAN [37] STRACHAN [38] DIJKSTRA [29] DALES [16] SPENGLER [19] EMENIUS [36] ALPER [39] DONG [17] DONG [22] ANTOVA [15] ROSENBAUM [43] IOSSIFOVA [8] KARVONEN [42] Summary (OR LI [26] MAIER [28] BRUNEKREEF [23] BRUNEKREEF [23] CHEN [25] BIAGINI [45] IBARGOYEN-ROTETA [44] KOSKINEN substudy [47] KOSKINEN [47] LI [26] LI [35] BRUNEKREEF [21] DONG …”

“…Two Asian studies from Singapore also reported higher risks for rhinitis and rhinoconjunctivitis among 1-12-yr-old children [25,65]. The remaining six studies did not observe any statistically significant exposure-response relationships [17,22,26,44,47].…”

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

“…However, the average prevalence of diagnosed asthma has increased in each province in the last two decades [2]. Air pollutants, western life style factors, home environment, allergens, heredity, personal growing environment and diet have all been investigated in relation to children's asthma or allergic diseases in Chinese children [3][4][5]. Prenatal exposure and early life factors have been less thoroughly studied [6].…”