title: [Indoor air quality and adult asthma].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The recent increase in its global prevalence suggests a possible role of environmental factors such as indoor air pollution. In 2000, according to the Institute Of Medicine, there was insufficient evidence to determine whether or not an association existed between high priority indoor air pollutants, listed by the French Indoor Air Quality Observatory, and asthma. The objective of this paper is to describe the current state of knowledge on the links between exposure to high priority indoor air pollutants and exacerbations of adult asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A review of the Medline database has been undertaken of the following pollutants: formaldehyde, benzene, acetaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, particles (PM2.5, PM10) and diethylhexyl-phthalate. The studies were classified by type and source of pollutant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three studies were included in the analysis. Most of the observational studies have shown an association between pollutants (by type and source) and adult asthma. The best documented pollutants were formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds. No studies were found on acetaldehyde and diethylhexyl-phthalate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The analysis of the literature is complicated on account of the difficulty of comparing different studies. However, since the synthesis performed in 2000, the existence of a link between chemical indoor air pollutants and increased respiratory symptoms appears to be reinforced. It seems necessary to adopt preventive health measures while pursuing scientific research on this topic.
authors.affiliation: Service d'onco-hématologie gériatrique, hôpital Charles-Foix, 7, avenue de la République, 94205 Ivry-sur-Seine, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitha
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lévy
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Annesi-Maesano
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lafortune
authors.forename: A-M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Magnier
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ibanez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001554:Benzene / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D005557:Formaldehyde; D001554:Benzene