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Indoor environmental risk factors and seasonal variation of childhood asthma

Yueh-Ying Han1, Yung-Ling Lee, Yueliang Leon Guo

  • 1Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.

Pediatric Allergy and Immunology : Official Publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
|February 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Indoor environmental factors like mold and cockroaches are linked to seasonal childhood asthma. Water damage is a year-round risk, while mold is associated with winter and spring asthma, and cockroaches with summer/fall asthma.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood asthma exhibits seasonal patterns, potentially influenced by indoor environmental exposures.
  • Understanding these links is crucial for developing targeted prevention strategies.
  • Previous research suggests various indoor factors contribute to asthma exacerbations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between indoor environmental factors and seasonal patterns of childhood asthma.
  • To identify specific indoor allergens and conditions associated with different asthma subtypes.
  • To inform public health interventions for asthma management in children.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study using data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) in Taiwan (2004).
  • Inclusion of 1725 children with asthma symptoms and 19,646 controls (aged 6-15 years).
  • Analysis using moving average, principal component analysis, and multivariate logistic regression to assess indoor factors and asthma seasonality.

Main Results:

  • Asthma prevalence peaked in winter and was lowest in summer.
  • Water damage was associated with all asthma subtypes.
  • Visible mold linked to winter/spring asthma; cockroaches associated with summer/fall asthma; passive smoking linked to spring/summer-fall asthma.

Conclusions:

  • Indoor environmental factors, including water damage, mold, and cockroaches, significantly influence the seasonality of childhood asthma in Taiwan.
  • Eliminating these indoor allergens is a necessary step for asthma prevention.
  • Further research into the mechanisms and allergic effects of these exposures is warranted.

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