Common Household Chemicals and the Allergy Risks in Pre-School Age Children

The risk of indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on allergic airway diseases in children remains unknown.We examined the residential concentrations of VOCs, emitted from building materials, paints, furniture, and other lifestyle practices and the risks of multiple allergic diseases as well as the IgE-sensitization in pre-school age children in Sweden.In a case-control investigation (198 case children with asthma and allergy and 202 healthy controls), air samples were collected in the room where the child slept. The air samples were analyzed for the levels of eight classes of VOCs.A natural-log unit of summed propylene glycol and glycol ethers (PGEs) in bedroom air (equal to interquartile range, or 3.43 - 15.65 µg/m(3)) was associated with 1.5-fold greater likelihood of being a case (95% CI, 1.1 - 2.1), 1.5-fold greater likelihood of asthma (95% CI, 1.0 - 2.3), 2.8-fold greater likelihood of rhinitis (95% CI, 1.6 - 4.7), and 1.6-fold greater likelihood of eczema (95% CI, 1.1 - 2.3), accounting for gender, secondhand smoke, allergies in both parents, wet cleaning with chemical agents, construction period of the building, limonene, cat and dog allergens, butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP). When the analysis was restricted to the cases, the same unit concentration was associated with 1.8-fold greater likelihood of IgE-sensitization (95% CI, 1.1 - 2.8) compared to the non-IgE sensitized cases. No similar associations were found for the other classes of VOCs.We propose a novel hypothesis that PGEs in indoor air exacerbate and/or induce the multiple allergic symptoms, asthma, rhinitis and eczema, as well as IgE sensitization respectively

Can air pollution affect tear film stability? a cross-sectional study in the aftermath of an explosion accident

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>After an explosion and fire in two tanks containing contaminated oil and sulphur products in a Norwegian industrial harbour in 2007, the surrounding area was polluted. This caused an intense smell, lasting until the waste was removed two years later. The present study reports examinations of tear film break up time among the population. The examinations were carried out because many of the people in the area complained of sore eyes. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between living or working close to the polluted area and tear film stability one and a half years after the explosion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All persons working or living in an area less than six kilometres from the explosion site were invited to take part in the study together with a similar number of persons matched for age and gender living more than 20 kilometres away. Three groups were established: workers in the explosion area and inhabitants near the explosion area (but not working there) were considered to have been exposed, and inhabitants far away (who did not work in the explosion area) were considered to be unexposed. A total of 734 people were examined, and the response rate was 76 percent. Tear film stability was studied by assessing non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT) using ocular microscopy. In addition Self-reported Break Up Time (SBUT) was assessed by recording the time the subject could keep his or hers eyes open without blinking when watching a fixed point on a wall. Background information was obtained using a questionnaire. Non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney-tests with exact p-values and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both NIBUT and SBUT were shorter among the male exposed workers than among the inhabitants both near and far away from the explosion area. This was also found for SBUT among males in a multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and smoking.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Reduced tear film stability was found among workers in an area where an explosion accident had occurred.</p

Infusion fluids contain harmful glucose degradation products

PURPOSE: Glucose degradation products (GDPs) are precursors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that cause cellular damage and inflammation. We examined the content of GDPs in commercially available glucose-containing infusion fluids and investigated whether GDPs are found in patients' blood. METHODS: The content of GDPs was examined in infusion fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. To investigate whether GDPs also are found in patients, we included 11 patients who received glucose fluids (standard group) during and after their surgery and 11 control patients receiving buffered saline (control group). Blood samples were analyzed for GDP content and carboxymethyllysine (CML), as a measure of AGE formation. The influence of heat-sterilized fluids on cell viability and cell function upon infection was investigated. RESULTS: All investigated fluids contained high concentrations of GDPs, such as 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG). Serum concentration of 3-DG increased rapidly by a factor of eight in patients receiving standard therapy. Serum CML levels increased significantly and showed linear correlation with the amount of infused 3-DG. There was no increase in serum 3-DG or CML concentrations in the control group. The concentration of GDPs in most of the tested fluids damaged neutrophils, reducing their cytokine secretion, and inhibited microbial killing. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that normal standard fluid therapy involves unwanted infusion of GDPs. Reduction of the content of GDPs in commonly used infusion fluids may improve cell function, and possibly also organ function, in intensive-care patients

Anti-proteinase 3 antibodies in diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc) with normotensive renal impairment: is it suggestive for an overlapping between SSc and idiopathic vasculitis?

Objective. To test the prevalence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to verify a possible association of ANCA with normotensive renal involvement in SSc. Patients and methods: 51 patients affected by SSc, 35 with diffuse scleroderma (dSSc) and 16 with limited scleroderma (lSSc), were tested for ANCA by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on human ethanol and formalin-acetone-fixed granulocytes (before and after DNase treatment), by conventional enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) and by capture-ELISA. Results. Six out of 51 selected SSc patients had ANCA by IIF (11.7%) and five presented a perinuclear/nuclear atypical ANCA pattern. In all cases we only found anti-proteinase3 (aPR3) antibodies. All ANCA positive patients had diffuse form of SSc (17.1%), all were anti-Scl70 positive (aScl70), five patients had proteinuria, three had microscopic haematuria. All ANCA positive patients were normotensive with normal renin plasma levels, the mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was higher in this group compared to the other SSc patients. Conclusions. Our study shows that aPR3 is not rare in dSSc. According to the clinical and serological findings and to the recent literature, we can hypothesise that when ANCA are found in SSc, an overlapping of scleroderma with systemic necrotizing vasculitis should be suspected

Obesity and nocturnal gastro-oesophageal reflux are related to onset of asthma and respiratory symptoms

Several studies have identified obesity as a risk factor for asthma in both children and adults. An increased prevalence of asthma in subjects with gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome has also been reported. The aim of this investigation was to study obesity, nocturnal GOR and snoring as independent risk factors for onset of asthma and respiratory symptoms in a Nordic population. In a 5-10 yr follow-up study of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia, a postal questionnaire was sent to previous respondents. A total of 16,191 participants responded to the questionnaire. Reported onset of asthma, wheeze and night-time symptoms as well as nocturnal GOR and habitual snoring increased in prevalence along with the increase in body mass index (BMI). After adjusting for nocturnal GOR, habitual snoring and other confounders, obesity (BMI >30) remained significantly related to the onset of asthma, wheeze and night-time symptoms. Nocturnal GOR was independently related to the onset of asthma and in addition, both nocturnal GOR and habitual snoring were independently related to onset of wheeze and night-time symptoms. This study adds evidence to an independent relationship between obesity, nocturnal gastro-oesophageal reflux and habitual snoring and the onset of asthma and respiratory symptoms in adults

Association between respiratory tract diseases and secondhand smoke exposure among never smoking flight attendants: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about long-term adverse health consequences experienced by flight attendants exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) during the time smoking was allowed on airplanes. We undertook this study to evaluate the association between accumulated flight time in smoky airplane cabins and respiratory tract diseases in a cohort of never smoking flight attendants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a mailed survey in a cohort of flight attendants. Of 15,000 mailed questionnaires, 2053 (14%) were completed and returned. We excluded respondents with a personal history of smoking (n = 748) and non smokers with a history of respiratory tract diseases before the age of 18 years (n = 298). The remaining 1007 respondents form the study sample.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall study sample was predominantly white (86%) and female (89%), with a mean age of 54 years. Overall, 69.7% of the respondents were diagnosed with at least one respiratory tract disease. Among these respondents, 43.4% reported a diagnosis of sinusitis, 40.3% allergies, 30.8% bronchitis, 23.2% middle ear infections, 13.6% asthma, 13.4% hay fever, 12.5% pneumonia, and 2.0% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. More hours in a smoky cabin were observed to be significantly associated with sinusitis (OR = 1.21; p = 0.024), middle ear infections (OR = 1.30; p = 0.006), and asthma (OR = 1.26; p = 0.042).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We observed a significant association between hours of smoky cabin exposure and self-reported reported sinusitis, middle ear infections, and asthma. Our findings suggest a dose-response between duration of SHS exposure and diseases of the respiratory tract. Our findings add additional evidence to the growing body of knowledge supporting the need for widespread implementation of clean indoor air policies to decrease the risk of adverse health consequences experienced by never smokers exposed to SHS.</p

Prenatal exposures and exposomics of asthma

This review examines the causal investigation of preclinical development of childhood asthma using exposomic tools. We examine the current state of knowledge regarding early-life exposure to non-biogenic indoor air pollution and the developmental modulation of the immune system. We examine how metabolomics technologies could aid not only in the biomarker identification of a particular asthma phenotype, but also the mechanisms underlying the immunopathologic process. Within such a framework, we propose alternate components of exposomic investigation of asthma in which, the exposome represents a reiterative investigative process of targeted biomarker identification, validation through computational systems biology and physical sampling of environmental medi