tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Eur J Epidemiol
. 2024 Feb 23.
doi: 10.1007/s10654-024-01101-z. Online ahead of print. Residential exposure to mold, dampness, and indoor air pollution and risk of respiratory tract infections: a study among children ages 11 and 12 in the Danish National Birth Cohort
Jonathan Groot[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Amélie Keller[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Torben Sigsgaard[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Steffen Loft[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: The burden of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is high in childhood. Several residential exposures may affect relative rates.
Objectives: To determine risk of RTIs in children ages 11 and 12 by residential exposures.
Methods: We included children in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) at ages 11 and 12. We estimated incidence risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for counts of RTIs within the last year by exposure to mold/dampness, gas stove usage, summer and winter candle-burning, fireplace usage, cats and dogs indoors, and farmhouse living. We also estimated IRR and 95% CI for RTIs for predicted scores of four extracted factors ('owned house', 'mold and dampness', 'candles', and 'density') from exploratory factor analyses (EFA).
Results: We included 42 720 children with complete data. Mold/dampness was associated with all RTIs (common cold: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.09[1.07, 1.12]; influenza: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.10 [1.05, 1.15]; tonsillitis: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.19 [1.10, 1.28]; conjunctivitis: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.16 [1.02, 1.32]; and doctor-diagnosed pneumonia: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.05 [0.90, 1.21]), as was the EFA factor 'mold/dampness' for several outcomes. Gas stove usage was associated with conjunctivitis (IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.25 [1.05, 1.49]) and with doctor-diagnosed pneumonia (IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.14 [0.93, 1.39]). Candle-burning during summer, but not winter, was associated with several RTIs, for tonsillitis in a dose-dependent fashion (increasing weekly frequencies vs. none: [IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.06 [0.98, 1.14], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.16 [1.04, 1.30], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.23 [1.06, 1.43], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.29 [1.00, 1.67], and IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.41 [1.12, 1.78]).
Conclusion: Residential exposures, in particular to mold and dampness and to a lesser degree to indoor combustion sources, are related to the occurrence of RTIs in children.
Keywords: Built environment; Danish National Birth Cohort; Environmental epidemiology; Home; Indoor air pollution; Respiratory tract infections.
. 2024 Feb 23.
doi: 10.1007/s10654-024-01101-z. Online ahead of print. Residential exposure to mold, dampness, and indoor air pollution and risk of respiratory tract infections: a study among children ages 11 and 12 in the Danish National Birth Cohort
Jonathan Groot[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Amélie Keller[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Torben Sigsgaard[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Steffen Loft[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen[SUP] 2 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38393605
- DOI: 10.1007/s10654-024-01101-z
Background: The burden of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is high in childhood. Several residential exposures may affect relative rates.
Objectives: To determine risk of RTIs in children ages 11 and 12 by residential exposures.
Methods: We included children in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) at ages 11 and 12. We estimated incidence risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for counts of RTIs within the last year by exposure to mold/dampness, gas stove usage, summer and winter candle-burning, fireplace usage, cats and dogs indoors, and farmhouse living. We also estimated IRR and 95% CI for RTIs for predicted scores of four extracted factors ('owned house', 'mold and dampness', 'candles', and 'density') from exploratory factor analyses (EFA).
Results: We included 42 720 children with complete data. Mold/dampness was associated with all RTIs (common cold: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.09[1.07, 1.12]; influenza: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.10 [1.05, 1.15]; tonsillitis: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.19 [1.10, 1.28]; conjunctivitis: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.16 [1.02, 1.32]; and doctor-diagnosed pneumonia: IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.05 [0.90, 1.21]), as was the EFA factor 'mold/dampness' for several outcomes. Gas stove usage was associated with conjunctivitis (IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.25 [1.05, 1.49]) and with doctor-diagnosed pneumonia (IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.14 [0.93, 1.39]). Candle-burning during summer, but not winter, was associated with several RTIs, for tonsillitis in a dose-dependent fashion (increasing weekly frequencies vs. none: [IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.06 [0.98, 1.14], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.16 [1.04, 1.30], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.23 [1.06, 1.43], IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.29 [1.00, 1.67], and IRR[SUB]adj[/SUB] 1.41 [1.12, 1.78]).
Conclusion: Residential exposures, in particular to mold and dampness and to a lesser degree to indoor combustion sources, are related to the occurrence of RTIs in children.
Keywords: Built environment; Danish National Birth Cohort; Environmental epidemiology; Home; Indoor air pollution; Respiratory tract infections.