Allergens in indoor air: environmental assessment and health effects

It has been suggested that the increase in morbidity and mortality for asthma and allergies, may also be due to an increase in exposure to allergens in the modern indoor environment. Indoor allergen exposure is recognised as the most important risk factor for asthma in children. House dust mites, pets, insects, plants, moulds and chemical agents in the indoor environment are important causes of allergic diseases. House dust mites and their debris and excrements that contain the allergens are normally found in the home in beds, mattresses, pillows, carpets and furniture stuffing, but they have also been found in office environments. Domestic animals such as cats, dogs, birds and rodents may cause allergic asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis. The exposure usually occurs in homes, but also in schools and kindergartens where domestic animals al:e kept as pets or for education; moreover, cat and dog owners can bring allergens to public areas in their clothes. Allergy to natural rubber latex has become an important occupational health concern in recent years, particularly among healthcare workers; when powdered gloves are worn or changed, latex particles get into the air and workers are exposed to latex aerosolised antigens. To assess the environmental risk to allergen exposure or to verify if there is a causal relationship between the immunologic findings in a patient and his/her environmental exposure, sampling from the suspected environment may be necessary

The fast acetylator phenotype in diabetes mellitus: abnormal prevalence and association with the ABO blood groups

The acetylator phenotype and ABO blood groups were evaluated in 55 normal subjects and in 156 diabetic patients [61 with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes and 95 with Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes]. The prevalence of fast acetylators was significantly higher in the Type 1 diabetic patients (53%) than in the control subjects (29%). In the Type 2 diabetic patients the prevalence was 39%, and thus not signifi cantly different from the control or Type 1 diabetic groups. In the Type 2 diabetic patients, but not in the control or in the Type 1 diabetic subjects, an association between the fast acetylator phenotype and the B blood group was found

Assessment through environmental and biological measurements of total daily exposure to volatile organic compounds of office workers in Milan, Italy

Personal exposure to total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), benzene and toluene of 100 Milan office workers was assessed through personal air monitoring at home, in the office, and during commuting. Biological monitoring was performed by measuring blood benzene and toluene concentrations together with urinary trans-trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) and cotinine at the end of the monitoring period. The geometric means of the total 24-h personal exposure were 514 mug/m(3) for TVOCs, 21.2 mug/m(3) for benzene and 35.2 mug/m(3) for toluene. Daily exposure to the volatile organic compounds was almost totally determined by indoor exposure at home and in the office, with a minor contribution in the transport means. An important factor determining exposure to benzene was found to be tobacco smoke, both for active smokers and for non-smokers exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). All the mean levels of the biological indicators were significantly higher in active smokers than in nonsmoking subjects non-exposed to ETS; urine cotinine and t,t-MA levels were also significantly higher in non-smokers exposed to ETS than in non-smokers non-exposed to ETS