Formaldehyde exposure and acute health effects study

Abstract

To assess the effects of formaldehyde exposures on health, exposure groups were defined using baseline exposure and health questionnaires. Formaldehyde concentrations were poorly correlated with these exposure classifications, perhaps due to the time delay between classification and monitoring. The 151 households reported here had a mean HCHO concentration of 35 (S.E. 1.5 and median 30) μg/m 3. Passive samplers prepared in our lab were calibrated in a chamber to derive an estimated sampling rate of 0.311 μg/(mg · m −3 · hr). They were also compared to commercially available samplers inside of the homes, with a correlation coefficient of 0.896 and mean difference of 2.6 μg/m 3. In this report of initial findings from an ongoing study, daily symptoms and peak expiratory flow measurements were compared with an HCHO exposure classification based on the median measured concentrations. None of the symptoms groups were related to HCHO exposure when controlling for age and sex. There was a significant relationship between HCHO exposure and variability in peak expiratory flows that was dependent on age group. It may be especially important to assess the variability in reactive individuals and children to determine the short-term effects of HCHO exposures and possible long-term consequences.