Indoor environmental pollutants and their association with sick house syndrome among adults and children in elementary school

Sick house syndrome (SHS) derived from sick building syndrome (SBS) is used to describe symptoms that inhabitants experience due to indoor environment and personal factors, and children might be more susceptible to the effects of SHS than adults. However, there have been no comprehensive studies on effects of indoor pollutants exposure in relation to SHS. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the association between indoor pollutants and SHS in children and adults who live in the same dwelling. This is a cross-sectional study on 184 elementary school children and 273 adults/adolescents in Sapporo, Japan. Indoor pollutants were measured in air and dust collected from 128 dwellings. Results showed children (20.6%) have higher prevalence of any symptoms than adults/adolescents (15.1%). Among SHS, mucosal symptoms were the most common in both children and adults/adolescents. Doctor diagnosed allergies, building age, dampness, and ventilation system showed significant association with prevalence of SHS. Formaldehyde, di(isobutyl) phthalate (DiBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di(isononyl) phthalate (DiNP), endotoxin, and 13-glucan were detected in all dwellings. Any symptoms and mucosal symptoms were significantly associated with the exposure to 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (2E1H). Floor dust DiNP, multi-surface dust Tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate with mucosal symptoms and endotoxin with dermal symptoms were inversely associated in adults/adolescent. Multi-surface dust DiBP also showed inverse association with mucosal symptoms in children. 2E1H emission increased with dampness in the dwellings thus, eliminating dampness in the dwellings may reduce the emissions of 2E1H and the risk of SHS in residents

Dietary habits and issues of junior high school students in a town in Gunma Prefecture

The purpose of this study was to understand the actual conditions of the dietary habits and to examine issues of junior high school students in a town in Gunma, Japan. In 2012, we conducted an anonymous self-reported questionnaire of all 163 students attending the junior high school in that area. Survey contents were as follows: Eating habits (such as taking breakfast and vegetables, food preferences), and food culture(such as awareness of food culture,taking locally produced foods). The survey resulted in a 64.4％ response rate. It was shown that 100 students (95.2％) took breakfast almost every day. Only 6 students(5.8％)took five or more servings of vegetables per day.34 students took breakfast with their family(32.4％) and 86 students took dinner with their family(81.9％). Less than 40％ of the students knew about locally produced food (n＝37,35.2％)or took those products often (n＝40,38.1％). With the results of the survey’s data, certain issues have been raised, and new procedures have been implemented. Dietary habits and issues are as follows: further promotion regarding taking breakfast, communication with the family while taking meals, promotion of increasing the daily vegetable intake, and understanding of food culture

Associations of phthalate concentrations in floor dust and multi-surface dust with the interior materials in Japanese dwellings

Phthalates are widely used as plasticizers in numerous products. However, there has been some concern about the various effects they may have on human health. Thus, household phthalate levels are an important public health issue. While many studies have assessed phthalate levels in house dust, the association of these levels with building characteristics has scarcely been examined. The present study investigated phthalate levels in house dust samples collected from the living areas of homes, and examined associations between these phthalate levels and the interior materials. Dust was collected from two portions of the living area: floor dust from the entire floor surface, and multi-surface dust from objects more than 35 cm above the floor. The levels of seven phthalates were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in selective ion monitoring mode. Phthalate levels were higher in multi-surface dust than in floor dust Among floor dust samples, those from dwellings with compressed wooden flooring had significantly higher levels of di-iso-butyl phthalate compared to those with other floor materials, while polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flooring was associated with higher di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) levels. Among multi-surface dust samples, higher levels of DEHP and di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DINP) were found in samples from homes with PVC wallpaper than without The number of PVC interior materials was significantly positively correlated with the levels of DEHP and DINP in multi-surface dust. The phthalate levels in multi-surface dust were associated with the interior surface materials, and those in floor dust were directly related to the flooring materials. Our findings show that when using house dust as an exposure assessment, it is very important to note where the samples were collected from. The present report provides useful information about the association between phthalates and dust inside dwellings, which will assist with establishing public health provisions. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V

Long-Chain N-Vanillyl-acylamides from Capsicum Oleoresin

N-Vanillyl-acylamides (NVAs) naturally occur as capsaicinoids in Capsicum plants. NVAs with a longer chain acyl moiety (LCNVAs) have been developed as attractive tools for medicinal usage because of their capsaicin-like bioactive and physiological properties, without harmful irritancy. In this study, we isolated four LCNVAs from Capsicum oleoresin. Their structures were determined to be N-vanillyl-hexadecanamide (palvanil, 2), N-vanillyl-octadecanamide (stevanil, 3), N-vanillyl-9E-octadecenamide (olvanil, 4), and N-vanillyl-9E,12E-octadecadienamide (livanil, 5) by spectroscopic analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of their methanolysis products. Furthermore, the existence of two LCNVAs in oleoresin, N-vanillyl-tetradecanamide (myrvanil, 1) and N-vanillyl-9E,12E,15E-octadecatrienamide (linvanil, 6), was suggested. The contents of these LCNVAs and the major capsaicinoids-capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin-in three Capsicum oleoresins and the fresh fruits of two hot peppers were measured by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system. The content ratios of the total LCNVAs, except for myrvanil, versus the capsaicin in the oleoresins (0.1-41%) was significantly larger than that in fresh fruits (<0.01%). The composition of these LCNVAs in each oleoresin was similar to that of fatty acids in the oil fraction of each oleoresin. We observed no relationship between the composition of these LCNVAs in the fresh fruits

Exposure to house dust phthalates in relation to asthma and allergies in both children and adults

Although an association between exposure to phthalates in house dust and childhood asthma or allergies has been reported in recent years, there have been no reports of these associations focusing on both adults and children. We aimed to investigate the relationships between phthalate levels in Japanese dwellings and the prevalence of asthma and allergies in both children and adult inhabitants in a cross-sectional study. The levels of seven phthalates in floor dust and multi-surface dust in 156 single-family homes were measured. According to a self-reported questionnaire, the prevalence of bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis in the 2 years preceding the study was 4.7%, 18.6%, 7.6%, and 10.3%, respectively. After evaluating the interaction effects of age and exposure categories with generalized liner mixed models, interaction effects were obtained for DiNP and bronchial asthma in adults (Pinteraction = 0.028) and for DMP and allergic rhinitis in children (Pinteraction = 0.015). Although not statistically significant, children had higher ORs of allergic rhinitis for DiNP, allergic conjunctivitis for DEHP, and atopic dermatitis for DiBP and BBzP than adults, and liner associations were observed (Ptrend < 0.05). On the other hand, adults had a higher OR for atopic dermatitis and DEHP compared to children. No significant associations were found in phthalates levels collected from multi-surfaces. This study suggests that the levels of DMP, DEHP, DiBP, and BBzP in floor dust were associated with the prevalence of allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis in children, and children are more vulnerable to phthalate exposure via household floor dust than are adults. The results from this study were shown by cross-sectional nature of the analyses and elaborate assessments for metabolism of phthalates were not considered. Further studies are needed to advance our understanding of phthalate toxicity