Associations between house dust mite concentrations in bedroom dust in Northern China and childhood asthma, rhinitis and eczema

Abstract

House dust mite (HDM) allergen is a risk factor for children's health. There are few studies of associations of house dust mites with childhood asthma, wheeze, rhinitis and eczema in northern China. During 2013–2016, we performed a nested case-control study involving 410 children from 399 homes. The concentration of Dermatophagoides farina class I allergen (Der f 1) was measured in dust samples from mattresses in children's bedroom by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The indoor environmental parameters such as pets keeping and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) were collected by a questionnaire. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of Der f 1 to children's allergic symptoms was estimated by logistic regression. A non-linear trend was found on the association between asthma and HDM exposure, and the risk of wheezing rose at low levels of Der f 1 exposure and the risk attenuated thereafter. A dose-response trend with the prevalence of rhinitis and eczema among children was observed with the increase of concentration of house dust mite allergen Der f 1 in bed mattress. When concentration of Der f 1 was above 4500 ng/g, the adjusted odds ratios of rhinitis current (AOR = 2.40), eczema ever (AOR = 12.23), eczema current (AOR = 2.52) and diagnosed eczema (AOR = 6.41) reached significance (p < 0.05).