title: A side-by-side comparison of three allergen sampling methods in settled house dust.
abstract: Understanding allergen exposure and potential relationships with asthma requires allergen sampling methods, but methods have yet to be standardized. We compared allergen measurements from dust collected from 200 households with asthmatics and conducted a side-by-side vacuum sampling of settled dust in each home's kitchen, living room and subject's bedroom by three methods (EMM, HVS4 and AIHA). Each sample was analyzed for dust mite, cockroach, mouse, rat, cat and dog allergens. The number of samples with sufficient dust mass for allergen analysis was significantly higher for Eureka Mighty Mite (EMM) and high volume small surface sampler (HVS4) compared with American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) in all rooms and surfaces tested (all P<0.05). The allergen concentration (weight of allergen divided by total weight of dust sampled) measured by the EMM and HVS4 methods was higher than that measured by the AIHA. Allergen loadings (weight of allergen divided by surface area sampled) were significantly higher for HVS4 than for AIHA and EMM. Cockroach and rat allergens were rarely detected via any method. The EMM method is most likely to collect sufficient dust from surfaces in the home and is relatively practical and easy. The AIHA and HVS4 methods suffer from insufficient dust collection and/or difficulty in use.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandel
authors.affiliation: Department of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Johnna S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: National Center for Healthy Housing, Columbia, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Adgate
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Ginger L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dorevitch
authors.affiliation: National Center for Healthy Housing, Columbia, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Jacobs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D000485:Allergens / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma; D001900:Boston; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003058:Cockroaches; D004285:Dogs; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D039981:Pyroglyphidae; D051381:Rats; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000485:Allergens; D004391:Dust