Effects of Indoor Environmental Factors on Respiratory Health of Children in a Subtropical Climate

Yang, Chih‐Jen; Chiu, Jeng‐Fen; Cheng, Ming‐Fen; Lin, Ming‐Fong

doi:10.1006/enrs.1997.3774

Cited by 61 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In addition to religious ceremonial functions, the fragrant smoke released from lighted incense is also intended for aesthetic and therapeutic purposes, and is effective as mosquito repellents and fresheners. Despite many spiritual and emotional benefits to be gained from burning incense, epidemiological studies have found that individuals who are frequently exposed to incense smoke may be at increased risk for respiratory ailments [1,2]. In fact, its genotoxicity could be comparable to, if not higher than, that of tobacco smoke [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from incense smoke

See

Balasubramanian

Joshi

2007

Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

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Incense is habitually burned in various religious settings ranging from the Eastern temples to the Western churches and in residential homes of their devotees, representing one of the most significant sources of combustion-derived particulate matter in indoor air. Incense smoke has been known to be associated with adverse health effects, which could be due to the release of the submicron-sized particles, including ultrafine and nanoparticles. However, there is currently a lack of information available in the literature on the emission rates of particles from incense smoke in terms of their particle number, a metric generally regarded as a better indicator of health risks rather than the particle mass. In this study, real-time characterization of the size distribution and number concentration of sub-micrometer-sized particles (5.6-560 nm) emitted from incense smoke was made, for the first time, for four different brands of sandalwood and aloeswood incense sticks commonly used by different religious groups. In addition, the respective emission rates were determined on hourly and mass basis based on mass balance equations. The measurements showed that the particle emission rates ranged from 5.10 Â 10 12 to 1.42 Â 10 13 h À1 or 3.66 Â 10 12 to 1.23 Â 10 13 g À1 and that the peak diameters varied from 93.1 to 143.3 nm. Airborne particles in the nanometer range (5.6-50 nm), in the ultrafine range (50-100 nm) and in the accumulation mode range (100-560 nm) accounted for 1% to 6%, 16% to 55% and 40% to 60% of the total particle counts, respectively, depending on the brand of incense sticks. To assess the potential health threat due to inhalation of particles released from incense burning, the number of particles of different sizes that can be possibly deposited in the respiratory tract were evaluated for an exposed individual based on known deposition fractions in the literature. The findings indicate that incense smoke may pose adverse health effects depending on exposure duration and intensity. r

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from incense smoke

See

Balasubramanian

Joshi

2007

Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

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“…Such studies began to appear in the literature in the late 1980's [1-3], continued into the 1990's [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], and have extended into the 21st century [13][14][15]. These studies [16][17][18][19][20][21] indicate that living or working in buildings with reported dampness or mould problems is associated with respiratory or allergic health effects.…”

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confidence: 99%

Dampness in dwellings and its associations with asthma and allergies among children in Chongqing: A cross-sectional study

Wang

Qin

et al. 2013

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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The city of Chongqing has high outdoor temperatures and humidity throughout the year and consequently a high risk of dampness and mold problems in dwellings. As part of the China, Children, Homes, Health (CCHH), associations between home characteristics and children's asthma, allergies, and related symptoms were investigated in Chongqing, China. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey on home characteristics including dampness and symptoms of asthma and allergies in 5299 children was performed. Data for 4754 children (3-6 years) and their homes were analyzed. Results showed that 35.1% of homes were reported to have "damp bedding", 14.3% "condensation on window panes (higher than 5 cm)", 11.6% "mouldy odor", 9.3% "water leakage", 8.3% "damp stains" and 5.3% "visible mould". Wheezing and rhinitis ever were reported for 27.0% and 51.1% children respectively, and rhinitis, wheezing, cough at night and eczema in the last 12 months were reported for 38.1%, 20.5%, 18.9% and 13.2% respectively. Doctor-diagnosed asthma was reported for 8.3% of children, and doctor-diagnosed rhinitis for 6.2%. Dampness in homes was generally strongly associated with asthma and allergies among Chongqing children. The strongest association was found between "visible mould" and doctor-diagnosed rhinitis, and the adjusted Odds Ratio (OR A ) was 2.27 (95% CI: 1.48, 3.49). "Damp bedding" was significantly associated with all asthma and allergic symptoms, but doctor-diagnosed asthma and rhinitis. The behavior of "putting bedding to sunshine" could effectively reduce the prevalence of asthma and allergic symptoms, and the risk of bedding affected with damp was reduced significantly when bedding was put to sunshine frequently. dampness, children, asthma, allergies, indoor environment Citation:Wang H, Li B Z, Yang Q, et al. Dampness in dwellings and its associations with asthma and allergies among children in Chongqing: A cross-sectional study.

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“…In the context of indoor settings where household fires produce severe long-term exposure to air pollution, clear associations with severe respiratory infections, chronic lung disease and lung cancer have been identified [38]. Similarly, exposure to indoor smoke from other sources such as burning incense has been associated with respiratory symptoms, immune dysfunction and malignancy [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47].…”

Section: Health Impacts Of Smokementioning

confidence: 99%

The pyrohealth transition: how combustion emissions have shaped health through human history

Johnston

Melody

Bowman

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Air pollution from landscape fires, domestic fires and fossil fuel combustion is recognized as the single most important global environmental risk factor for human mortality and is associated with a global burden of disease almost as large as that of tobacco smoking. The shift from a reliance on biomass to fossil fuels for powering economies, broadly described as the pyric transition, frames key patterns in human fire usage and landscape fire activity. These have produced distinct patters of human exposure to air pollution associated with the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions and post-industrial the Earth global system-wide changes increasingly known as the Anthropocene. Changes in patterns of human fertility, mortality and morbidity associated with economic development have been previously described in terms of demographic, epidemiological and nutrition transitions, yet these frameworks have not explicitly considered the direct consequences of combustion emissions for human health. To address this gap, we propose a pyrohealth transition and use data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) collaboration to compare direct mortality impacts of emissions from landscape fires, domestic fires, fossil fuel combustion and the global epidemic of tobacco smoking. Improving human health and reducing the environmental impacts on the Earth system will require a considerable reduction in biomass and fossil fuel combustion. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.

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Effects of Indoor Environmental Factors on Respiratory Health of Children in a Subtropical Climate

Cited by 61 publications

References 39 publications

Physical characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from incense smoke

Physical characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from incense smoke

Dampness in dwellings and its associations with asthma and allergies among children in Chongqing: A cross-sectional study

The pyrohealth transition: how combustion emissions have shaped health through human history

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