Questionnaire survey for health risk assessment of exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds-contaminated floor dust in housing: preliminary survey on prevalence

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Phthalates or phosphates present in many products in indoor environment. A majority of those compounds are classified as semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), which are mainly found in both gas and condensed phases. They are easily distributed from their original source over time to indoor air, indoor dust, and other indoor surfaces, including adhesion to foods, toys, or household products. Indoor dust is the main exposure media for low volatile SVOCs. Thus, health risk assessment of human exposure to SVOCs-contaminated indoor dust is essential to appropriately clarify the risk level of indoor environment. We report the preliminary nationwide questionnaire survey for the risk assessment. METHODS: Web based-surveys were conducted from October through November 2019 and 2020 in five large areas in Japan, including Hokkaido, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, and Kyushu. Questionnaires to obtain information on characteristics of housing and collection of the floor dust were administered to a family nurturer randomly selected from approximately one hundred seventy thousand monitors registered in a leading online research company. Questionnaires to obtain information on medical histories, symptoms, and housing-related symptoms (HRSs), i.e. sick-building syndromes in housing were also administered to the family members. RESULTS:A total of 154 households and 487 individuals (50.9% females; mean: 34.3 years; range: 0–93 years) responded. Indoor floor dust in 154 houses was collected. Prevalence of hay fever, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic conjunctivitis, and depression were 6.8%, 5.3%, 2.7%, 1.9%, 1.7%, and 1.5%, respectively. Prevalence of upper respiratory symptoms, skin symptoms, eye irritation, general symptoms, and any symptoms related to the housing were 6.2%, 2.1%, 1.0%, 0.6%, and 8.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggested that prevalence of allergic diseases and HRSs induced in upper airway were high. Future analyses would indicate the associations with SVOCs in flood dust. KEYWORDS: Allergies, Chemical exposures, Incidence, Multi-pollutant, Risk assessment