Household Use of Green Cleaning Products, Disinfecting Wipes, and Asthma Control Among Adults

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of Household Disinfectants and Cleaning Products (HDCPs) may negatively impact asthma control, but studies remain scarce. Moreover, none considered green products or wipes, increasingly used during home cleaning. ObjectiveTo assess the associations between the use of HDCPs, including disinfecting wipes and green products, and asthma control based on data from the French web-based NutriNet-Santé cohort. MethodsUsing a standardized questionnaire (2018), we assessed asthma control (never asthma - reference, controlled: ACT≥20, uncontrolled: ACT<20) and the use of HDCPs, including two types of products (irritants and green products) and two application modes (sprays and disinfecting wipes). Cross-sectional associations of the frequency of weekly use of HDCPs at home with asthma control, adjusted for gender, age, smoking status, body mass index and educational level were assessed by multinomial logistic regressions. ResultsAnalyses were performed on 37,043 adults (mean age: 47 years, 75% women, 62% with a weekly use of at least one HDCP). Strong associations were observed between weekly use of HDCPs and uncontrolled asthma. In particular, an almost daily use (4-7 days a week) of irritants (OR=2.81[1.97-4.00]), green products (OR=2.40[1.70-3.39]), as well as sprays (OR=2.69[1.97-3.68]) and disinfecting wipes (OR=3.51[2.31-5.33]) was associated with uncontrolled asthma. When not co-used with irritants and sprays, associations remained statistically significant for both disinfecting wipes and green products. ConclusionWeekly use of HDCPs, including green ones or wipes, was associated with uncontrolled asthma and should be considered by health practitioners in order to improve asthma control.