Do questions reflecting indoor air pollutant exposure from a questionnaire predict direct measure of exposure in owner-occupied houses?
Home characteristic questions are used in epidemiological studies and clinical settings to assess potentially harmful exposures in the home. The objective of this study was to determine whether questionnaire-reported home characteristics can predict directly measured pollutants. Sixty home inspections were conducted on a subsample of the 2006 population-based Toronto Child Health Evaluation Questionnaire. Indoor/outdoor air and settled dust samples were analyzed. Mean Fel d 1 was higher (p < 0.0001) in homes with a cat (450.58 μg/g) versus without (22.28 μg/g). Mean indoor NO(2) was higher (p = 0.003) in homes with gas stoves (14.98 ppb) versus without (8.31 ppb). Self-reported musty odours predicted higher glucan levels (10554.37 μg/g versus 6308.58 μg/g, p = 0.0077). Der f 1 was predicted by the home's age, but not by reports of carpets, and was higher in homes with mean relative humidity > 50% (61.30 μg/g, versus 6.24 μg/g, p = 0.002). Self-reported presence of a cat, a gas stove, musty odours, mice, and the home's age and indoor relative humidity over 50% predicted measured indoor levels of cat allergens, NO(2), fungal glucan, mouse allergens and dust mite allergens, respectively. These results are helpful for understanding the significance of indoor exposures ascertained by self-reporting in large epidemiological studies and also in the clinical setting.
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jennifer.loo@utoronto.ca
C K Jennifer
CK
Loo
Richard G
RG
Foty
Amanda J
AJ
Wheeler
J David
JD
Miller
Greg
G
Evans
David M
DM
Stieb
Sharon D
SD
Dell
D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003058:Cockroaches; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter; D039981:Pyroglyphidae; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000485:Allergens; D052638:Particulate Matter; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide