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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Murine Model of Allergen Induced Asthma
Published on: May 14, 2012
Endotoxin exposure in asthmatic children and matched healthy controls: results of IPEADAM study
G O G Tavernier1, G D Fletcher, H C Francis
1North West Lung Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester M23 9LT, UK. gael@tavernier.info
Insights
Higher endotoxin levels in living room carpets were linked to childhood asthma. Other indoor pollutants like allergens and dampness showed no significant association with asthma development in this study.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Allergy
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Children's increasing indoor time raises concerns about environmental factors influencing asthma.
- Endotoxin exposure presents complex pro-inflammatory and protective effects in various contexts.
- Understanding indoor pollutant impacts is crucial for managing childhood asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between exposure to indoor pollutants and asthma in children.
- To identify specific environmental risk factors contributing to the asthmatic phenotype.
- To explore potential interactions between different indoor environmental factors.
Main Methods:
- Matched case-control study involving asthmatic and healthy children (ages 4-17).
- Recruitment from primary care centers using validated questionnaires.
- Measurement of indoor pollutants including endotoxin, Der p 1, damp, ETS, and PM2.5 in homes.
Main Results:
- Elevated endotoxin levels were found in living room carpets of homes with asthmatic children compared to controls (OR: 1.88).
- Asthmatic children were more likely to reside in single-parent households with reported damp and recent living room redecoration.
- No statistically significant interactions were observed between the examined environmental factors.
Conclusions:
- Endotoxin in urban homes may be a risk factor for childhood asthma development.
- Apart from endotoxin, common indoor pollutants like allergens, nitrogen dioxide, ETS, and dampness are unlikely to be primary drivers of asthma in this age group.
- Avoiding these pollutants may not significantly prevent asthma in English children aged 4-17.
Unlabelled:
Children spend increasing time indoors. Exposure to environmental factors may contribute to the development or exacerbation of the asthmatic phenotype. Inter-relationships between these factors might influence the manifestation of asthma. Endotoxin exposure has been shown to have pro-inflammatory and protective effects in different situations. We investigated the exposure to several indoor pollutants (endotoxin, Der p 1, damp, ETS, PM2.5) in asthmatic and healthy children. The children were recruited from two primary care centers according to their response to a validated questionnaire. Asthmatic children were matched for sex, age and sib-ship size with children living in asthma free households. Of 90 matched pairs, higher levels of endotoxin were found in the living room carpets, but not the bedroom carpet or mattresses of the asthma compared with the control homes (STATA analysis OR: 1.88 (1.11-3.18); P=0.018). Asthmatic children were also more likely to live as part of a single parent family, in a house where the parents self-reported the presence of damp, and where the living room had been redecorated in the 12 months prior to the sampling visits. This study suggests that endotoxin in urban homes is a risk factor for the development of asthma. Moreover, this study found that there were no statistically significant interactions between environmental factors.
Practical Implications:
This study has demonstrated that the home environments of English children (4-17) with asthma and without the disease do not differ greatly. With the exception of endotoxin, the parameters examined in this study, including house dust mite allergens, nitrogen dioxide, ETS and damp are unlikely to be related to the development of asthma. Avoidance of these pollutants may not be beneficial in preventing asthma in this age group.
