title: Adolescent lung function associated with incense burning and other environmental exposures at home.
abstract: Incense burning is a popular cultural and religious practice, but whether exposure to incense smoke has effects on lung function is unclear. We investigated association between lung function and incense burning exposure and other household exposures in adolescents who participated in a mass asthma-screening program. Information on asthmatic status and associated factors was obtained from parent-completed questionnaires and student-completed video questionnaires. Approximately 10% of students received lung function examinations. Valid lung function data of 5010 students aged 14-16 years in northern Taiwan were analyzed. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory flow in 1 second (FEV1) were compared by incense burning status and other types of exposures for adolescents. Overall, 70.6% of students were exposed to incense smoke at home. The mean FVC and FEV1measures were lower among adolescents with daily exposure to incense burning than those without such exposure (P<.05). Sharing bedroom was also associated with decreased FVC and FEV1. After controlling for confounding factors, multivariable linear regression analysis with generalized estimation equation showed that FVC was negatively associated with daily exposure to incense burning, sharing a bedroom, and living in a house adjacent to a traffic road. Such associations were also observed in FEV1. Daily exposure to incense burning is associated with impaired adolescent lung function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Yanchao District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|Bachelor's Degree Program for Indigenous Peoples in Long-term Care, I-Shou University, Yanchao District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Divisions of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D014797:Vital Capacity
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D012906:Smoke
keywords: adolescent; home; household; incense burning; indoor air; lung function