In order to evaluate the prevalence of childhood asthma,allergic diseases and pneumonia in Urumqi City,China,as well as its associations with housing and home characteristics,a cross-sectional study was performed in 4618 children(81.7%response rate,average age 4.7±0.9 year,boys accounting for 53.7%).Questions on children’s asthma and allergic diseases were from the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood(ISAAC)and were integrated with questions on the home environment from the Dampness in Buildings and Health(DBH)study,slightly modified to account for Chinese building characteristics and life habits.The prevalences of physician diagnosed asthma,allergic rhinitis(AR)and pneumonia were 3.6%,8.7%and 40.9%,respectively.One fourth of children reported wheezing and more than 40%AR symptoms in the last 12 months.Controlling for confounding factors,positive associations were found for home mold/dampness and wheezing(adjusted odds ratio,aOR 1.33,95%CI 1.07 1.66),AR symptoms(1.34,1.09 1.64)last 12 months and physician diagnosed pneumonia(1.33,1.09 1.62).Floor material by wood,PVC or carpeting;and walls by wallpaper,painting or wood material,were positively associated with AR symptoms.Home environmental tobacco smoke(ETS)was positively associated with wheezing(1.23,1.04 1.46)and pneumonia(1.25,1.07 1.45).In conclusion,there was a relatively high prevalence of asthmatic and AR symptoms and diagnosed pneumonia in preschool children in Urumqi.Home signs of mold growth or dampness,windowpane condensation,as well as ETS and interior surface materials emitting chemicals were risk factors for allergic symptoms and pneumonia.
WANG TingTingZHAO ZhuoHuiYAO HuaWANG ShuLanNORBACK DanCHEN JieMA JinFengJI XiaoLiWANG LiSUNDELL Jan
Prenatal and early life home environment might be related to children’s asthma or allergic diseases later in life.A cross-sectional epidemiological study was designed and a questionnaire survey was performed in 3700 preschool children in urban areas in Taiyuan,Shanxi Province,China.Questions on children’s asthma and allergic diseases from the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood(ISAAC)were integrated with questions on home environment from the Swedish Dampness in Buildings and Health(DBH)study,appropriately modified for Chinese life habits.By multivariate regression analyses controlling for age,gender,heredity,location in urban/suburban or rural areas,environmental tobacco smoke(ETS)and breastfeeding,we found that home new furniture(HNF)before birth(referring to 1 year before pregnancy and during pregnancy)was positively associated with wheezing ever(odds ratio(OR)1.23 with 95%CI of 1.03–1.48)and wheezing last 12 months(1.24,1.00–1.54),allergic rhinitis(AR)(1.26,1.06–1.51),and eczema(1.42,1.01–1.99).HNF between 0–1 years old was also positively associated with wheezing last 12 months.Home new decoration(HND)during 0–1 years old was positively associated with AR symptoms and eczema symptoms,more in the last 12 months.Stronger positive associations were found for signs of home mold and dampness with almost all children’s asthmatic and allergic symptoms(OR ranging from 1.23–1.85,P<0.05).By mutual adjustment between HNF before children’s birth and home mold or dampness,all the significance remained unchanged.Prenatal HNF and home mold or dampness was independently associated with children’s asthmatic and allergic diseases later in life.
ZHAO ZhuoHuiZHANG XinLIU RanRanNORBACK DanWIESLANDER GunillaCHEN JieSUNDELL Jan
In order to evaluate the perceived home indoor air quality,as well as sick building syndrome(SBS) in areas with typical arid continental climate such as Urumqi,northwest of China,a cross-sectional study including 4,260 parents of children(1–8 years) was performed by a questionnaire survey in winter season in 2011.The sensation of air dryness(weekly/sometimes) in the last 3 months had the highest proportion of reports by more than half of the parents(57.4 %),followed by perceived stuffy odor(40.6 %),unpleasant odor(27.0 %),tobacco smoke odor(25.5 %),sensation of humid air(17.9 %),pungent odor(11.7 %) and moldy odor(9.5 %),respectively.The prevalence of SBS symptoms in the same time period was40.4 % for general symptom,47.7 % for mucosal symptom and 9.5 % for skin symptom,respectively.There were significant associations between perceived odors/sensation of air dryness and SBS symptoms(ORs range 1.39–1.42).Additionally,the OR values increased with an increase of the OH score(P \ 0.05).Dampness,the presence of cockroaches and mosquitoes/flies,prenatal exposure to decoration and close to traffic were all risk factors of SBS symptoms.However,frequently putting bedding to sunshine was potentially a protective factor.In conclusion,adults' perceptions of odors and sensation of air dryness are related to SBS symptoms and home environmental factors in Urumqi,China.
