Association of Asthma Symptoms and Severity with Indoor Bioaerosols

Details

• Personal Author:
  Curtis L ; Hryhorczuk DO ; Persky VW ; Ramakrishnan V ; Ross MA ; Scheff PA ; Wadden RA
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: In this study, repeated measurements were made of levels of mold spores, bacteria, and dust-mite allergens over a 7-month period in the homes of asthmatics, and relationships with measures of asthma severity were evaluated. METHODS: A sample of 57 asthmatic individuals, living in 44 homes in East Moline, Illinois, and nearby communities, participated in a panel study. The homes were visited up to nine times during the study to collect air and dust samples. Asthma severity indicators were derived from questionnaire data and from the daily health records from the panel study. Associations between indoor levels of mold spores, bacteria, and dust-mite allergens were tested with several asthma severity indicators. RESULTS: There was evidence of associations between all asthma severity measures and levels of total and gram-negative bacteria, but mold-spore abundance was associated only with emergency room (ER) visits for asthma. No significant associations were found with house-dust-mite allergen and any of the asthma severity indicators, but the levels of dust-mite allergen were low, with median concentrations of 0.18 microg/g dust Der f 1 and 0.19 microg/g dust Der p 1. CONCLUSIONS: Some evidence was found for associations of increased concentrations of gram-negative bacteria and mold spores with asthma severity, particularly with ER visits. No association was found between house-dust-mite allergen and asthma severity indicators; however, the mite-allergen levels in the study homes were generally well below the proposed threshold level of 2 microg/g dust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Asthma Asthma, Occupational Bacteria Dust Fungi Lung Diseases Mortality Occupational Health Race Factors Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

  More +
• Keywords:
  Age-factors Bacterial-dusts Bronchial-asthma Humans Lung-disorders Molds Mortality-data Mortality-rates Pulmonary-system-disorders Racial-factors Respiratory-system-disorders

  More +
• ISSN:
  0105-4538
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Maine ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029882
• Citation:
  Allergy 2000 Aug; 55(8):705-711
• Contact Point Address:
  Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19770930
• Source Full Name:
  Allergy
• End Date:
  19960630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a9e396996e43057833ce7f3024e13f8a6fce55078785f3c8bc7b738ad43341c04663bd6f2c90dc79f9718988e531602a34930ca0f43d23c6e284c3127bb44a1a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190776/cdc_190776_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 85.92 KB ]