The Relationship Between Symptoms and IgG and IgE Antibodies in an Office Environment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Biagini, Raymond E. ; Malkin, Robert ; Marinkovich V ; Martinez, Kenneth F. ; Wall D ; Wilcox T
• Description:
  Airborne fungi have been postulated as a cause of symptoms among office workers. Using the MAST chemiluminescent system, this study evaluated 36 IgG and 36 IgE antibody levels in 47 office workers from an area with elevated airborne fungal concentrations and 44 office workers from an otherwise similar area with lower airborne fungal exposure. No difference was found in IgG antibody to fungi between the lower and higher exposure areas, but high IgG antibody to one or more of the fungi studied was detected in 67% of all the workers tested. IgE antibody to one or more antigens was detected in 40% of the participants. Workers who reported atopic symptoms (sneezing, runny nose, and itchy eyes) or "sick building" symptoms (any three of the following temporally related to work: headache, fatigue, stuffy nose, irritated eyes, or sore throat) were more likely to have one positive IgE antibody test. Type I hypersensitivity to aero. allergens besides fungi may playa role in some symptoms reported by some participants in this office building. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Antibodies Environmental Health Fungi Hypersensitivity Microbiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety

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• Keywords:
  Airborne-particles Allergic-disorders Allergic-reactions Allergies Antibody-response Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Microorganisms Molds Occupational-exposure Office-workers

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• ISSN:
  0013-9351
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  85-93
• Volume:
  76
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20024949
• Citation:
  Environ Res 1998 Feb; 76(2):85-93
• Contact Point Address:
  National Insitute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies. Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Mail Stop R-10, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
• Email:
  rym8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Research
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:da63211ba052e3811ae85e6cc4d0fc4a21a4c6f716e2f7013808709871a140adf21dd157b9587951a658933f223b61781e570d758c0ece8f993bf57ab215d1ec
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196504/cdc_196504_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.11 KB ]