title: Respiratory symptoms in children and indoor exposure to nitrogen dioxide and gas stoves.
abstract: Nitrogen dioxide levels were measured in 80 homes in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia, using passive samplers. Some 148 children between 7 and 14 yr of age were recruited as study participants, 53 of whom had asthma. Health outcomes for the children were studied using a respiratory questionnaire, skin prick tests, and peak flow measurements. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations were low, with an indoor median of 11.6 microgram/m3 (6.0 ppb), and a maximum of 246 microgram/m3 (128 ppb). Respiratory symptoms were more common in children exposed to a gas stove (odds ratio 2.3 [95% CI 1. 0-5.2], adjusted for parental allergy, parental asthma, and sex). Nitrogen dioxide exposure was a marginal risk factor for respiratory symptoms, with a dose-response association present (p = 0.09). Gas stove exposure was a significant risk factor for respiratory symptoms even after adjusting for nitrogen dioxide levels (odds ratio 2.2 [1.0-4.8]), suggesting an additional risk apart from the average nitrogen dioxide exposure associated with gas stove use. Atopic children tended to have a greater risk of respiratory symptoms compared with nonatopic children with exposure to gas stoves or nitrogen dioxide, but the difference was not significant.
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Sciences, Monash University, Churchill, Victoria, Australia, and Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash Medical School, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hooper
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hooper
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Abramson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000009:adverse effects; D006794:Household Articles; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010290:Parents; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012882:Skin Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide