Predictors of Airborne Endotoxin in the Home

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burge HA ; Gold DR ; Milton DK ; Park, Ju-Hyeong ; Spiegelman DL
• Description:
  We identified home characteristics associated with the level of airborne endotoxin in 111 Boston-area homes enrolled in a cohort study of home exposures and childhood asthma, and we developed a predictive model to estimate airborne endotoxin. We measured endotoxin in family-room air and in dust from the baby's bed, family room, bedroom, and kitchen floor. Level of airborne endotoxin was weakly correlated (r < 0.3) with level of endotoxin in each of the four types of dust samples and was significantly correlated with endotoxin in family-room dust (p < 0.05). Endotoxin in family-room dust accounted for < 6% of the variability of airborne endotoxin. In a multivariate model, certain home characteristics were positively (p < 0.05) associated with airborne endotoxin. These included current presence of dog (difference in level, dog vs. no dog = 72%, partial R(2 )= 12.8%), past presence of dog (partial R(2) = 5.5%), and endotoxin level in family-room dust (partial R(2) = 5.3%). Use of a dehumidifier (partial R(2) = 6.4%) was negatively associated (p = 0.02; difference = -31%) with airborne endotoxin. Other home characteristics were identified as important determinants of increased airborne endotoxin in this model, but individual coefficients were not statistically significant (alpha = 0.05): total amount of fine dust collected in the home (partial R(2 )= 3.8%), concrete floor in family room (3.7%), water damage (3.6%), and use of cool-mist humidifier in past year (2.7%). This multivariate model explained 42% of the variability of airborne endotoxin levels, a substantial improvement over that with dust endotoxin alone. Airborne endotoxin in Boston-area homes appears to be determined by the presence of dogs, moisture sources, and increased amounts of settled dust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dust Endotoxins Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Airborne-particles Author Keywords: Airborne Endotoxin Bronchial-asthma Dust-particles Dust-sampling Dust Endotoxin Dusts Exposure-assessment Models Predictive Model Seasonal Variability

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• ISSN:
  0091-6765
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  109
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021833
• Citation:
  Environ Health Perspect 2001 Aug; 109(8):859-864
• Contact Point Address:
  D.K. Milton, Environmental Health, Occupational Health Program, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
• Email:
  dmilton@hohp.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Health Perspectives
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8c573992ea8c9c5379013901d812d9c3518a4a5a71e75e32e608cab670792f37a1417ba9f46fb30f905738c9323a674a8e8f3e1d2d87a9739efa67207ad41d83
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198930/cdc_198930_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 74.90 KB ]