Abstract
Although asthma mortality has been declining for the past several decades, asthma morbidity is on the rise, largely due to deteriorating indoor air quality and comorbidities, such as allergies. Consumer products and building materials including paints emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as propylene glycol (PG), which is shown to dehydrate respiratory tracts and can contributor to airway remodeling. We hypothesize that paint exposure increases the risk of asthma attacks among children because high levels of VOCs persist indoors for many weeks after painting. Children 1–15 years old visiting two of the University of Miami general pediatric clinics were screened for their history of asthma and paint exposure by interviewing their parents and/or guardians accompanying them to the clinic. They were also asked questions about asthma diagnosis, severity of asthma and allergies and their sociodemographics. The risk of asthma attack among asthmatic children was modeled with respect to paint exposure adjusting for potential confounders using multivariate logistic regressions. Of 163 children, 36 (22%) reported physician-diagnosed asthma and of these, 13 (33%) had an asthma attack during the last one year. Paint exposure was marginally significant in the univariate analysis (OR = 4.04; 95% CI = 0.90–18.87; p < 0.1). However, exposed asthmatic children were 10 times more likely to experience an asthma attack than unexposed asthmatic children (OR = 10.49; CI = 1.16–94.85, p < 0.05) when adjusted for other risk factors. Given paint is one of the sources of indoor VOCs, multiple strategies are warranted to manage the health effects of VOC exposure from paint, including the use of zero-VOC water-based paint, exposure avoidance and clinical interventions.
Highlights
Pediatric asthma remains one of the most common chronic diseases in the U.S, affecting 6.2 million children and accounting for approximately $50 billion per year in healthcare costs [1]
Of the 163 children included in the study, 36 (22%) had physician-diagnosed asthma and of these, 13 (36%) reported having an asthma attack within the last year, and 12 (33%) reported rhinitis symptoms during the past one year
In both boys and girls who were diagnosed with asthma, those children who were exposed to paint had a higher proportion of having an asthma attack
Summary
Pediatric asthma remains one of the most common chronic diseases in the U.S, affecting 6.2 million children and accounting for approximately $50 billion per year in healthcare costs [1]. Atopic (or allergy-induced) asthma accounts for over 75% of asthma cases [3,4]. Extraneous factors, including allergens (e.g., mold and pollen spores and endotoxins) and other environmental exposures, are the main drivers of atopic asthma [5]. Indoor pollutants emitted from consumer products and building material play an important role in the onset and persistence of asthma and allergies [6]. While the effects of indoor pollutants and allergens on asthma severity have been subject to research scrutiny [1,2], the role of paint, an importance source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is not well understood. In a review of 20 studies found that, only one study demonstrated a significant association between domestic paint exposure and onset of asthma and asthma-like symptoms [7]
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