title: Formaldehyde concentrations in household air of asthma patients determined using colorimetric detector tubes.
abstract: Formaldehyde is a colorless, pungent gas commonly found in homes and is a respiratory irritant, sensitizer, carcinogen, and asthma trigger. Typical household sources include plywood and particleboard, cleaners, cosmetics, pesticides, and others. Development of a fast and simple measurement technique could facilitate continued research on this important chemical. The goal of this research is to apply an inexpensive short-term measurement method to find correlations between formaldehyde sources and concentration, and formaldehyde concentration and asthma control. Formaldehyde was measured using 30-min grab samples in length-of-stain detector tubes in homes (n = 70) of asthmatics in the Boston, MA area. Clinical status and potential formaldehyde sources were determined. The geometric mean formaldehyde level was 35.1 ppb and ranged from 5 to 132 ppb. Based on one-way ANOVA, t-tests, and linear regression, predictors of log-transformed formaldehyde concentration included absolute humidity, season, and the presence of decorative laminates, fiberglass, or permanent press fabrics (P < 0.05), as well as temperature and household cleaner use (P < 0.10). The geometric mean formaldehyde concentration was 57% higher in homes of children with very poorly controlled asthma compared to homes of other asthmatic children (P = 0.078). This study provides a simple method for measuring household formaldehyde and suggests that exposure is related to poorly controlled asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Dannemiller
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Pennell
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Suuberg
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003124:Colorimetry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000032:analysis*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005557:Formaldehyde
keywords: Absolute humidity; Asthma; Colorimetric detector tubes; Formaldehyde; Household chemical exposure; Housing