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Pediatric Asthma and the Indoor Microbial Environment
Lidia Casas1,2,3,4, Christina Tischer5,6,7, Martin Täubel8
1Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for Environment and Health, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. lidia.casasruiz@kuleuven.be.
Insights
Exposure to indoor microbes, especially in early life, influences asthma development. While moisture damage may worsen asthma, diverse microbial environments, like farms, might protect, though research methods need improvement.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Microbiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Global asthma prevalence is increasing, linked to 'westernization' and indoor microbial exposures during early life.
- Moisture-damaged homes are associated with asthma exacerbation and development.
- Exposure to diverse microbes in environments like traditional farms may offer protective effects against asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the inconsistent associations between indoor microbial exposure and asthma.
- To highlight the limitations of current sampling and measurement techniques for indoor microbial environments.
- To emphasize the potential of new generation sequencing for understanding the indoor microbiome's impact on health.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing research on indoor moisture, microbial environments (farming vs. non-farming), and asthma.
- Analysis of limitations in current sampling and measurement techniques for indoor microbial exposure.
- Consideration of advanced techniques like new generation sequencing.
Main Results:
- Consistent findings exist for indoor moisture damage and farming vs. non-farming comparisons.
- Associations become inconsistent when actual indoor microbial exposure measures are included.
- Current methods provide an incomplete picture of the indoor microbiome and human exposure.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the indoor microbiome's role in asthma requires improved measurement techniques.
- New generation sequencing offers a promising approach to accurately assess indoor microbial exposure and its health impacts.
- Further research is needed to clarify the relationship between indoor microbial diversity and asthma development.
Abstract:
The global increase in the prevalence of asthma has been related to several risk factors; many of them linked to the "westernization" process and the characteristics of the indoor microbial environment during early life may play an important role. Living in moisture damaged homes contributes to the exacerbation and development of asthma. However, living in homes with a rich variety and high levels of microbes (e.g., traditional farming environments) may confer protection. While the results of previous research are rather consistent when it comes to observation/report of indoor moisture damage or when comparing farming versus non-farming homes, when actual measures targeting indoor microbial exposure are included, the picture becomes less clear and the associations appear inconsistent. This may partly be due to limitations of sampling and measurement techniques that make comparisons difficult and provide an incomplete picture of the indoor microbial environment and in particular also human exposure. In this regard, new generation sequencing techniques represent a potential revolution in better understanding the impact of the indoor microbiome on human health.
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