TY - JOUR
T1 - Airborne fungi in the homes of children with asthma in low-income urban communities
T2 - The Inner-City Asthma Study
AU - O'Connor, George T.
AU - Walter, Michelle
AU - Mitchell, Herman
AU - Kattan, Meyer
AU - Morgan, Wayne J.
AU - Gruchalla, Rebecca S.
AU - Pongracic, Jacqueline A.
AU - Smartt, Ernestine
AU - Stout, James W.
AU - Evans, Richard
AU - Crain, Ellen F.
AU - Burge, Harriet A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by National Institutes of Health grants AI/ES-39769, AI/ES-39900, AI/ES-39902, AI/ES-39789, AI/ES-39901, AI/ES-39761, AI/ES-39785, and AI/ES-39776 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services; and by grant M01 RR00533 from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
PY - 2004/9
Y1 - 2004/9
N2 - Despite growing evidence of the importance of exposure to fungi as an environmental risk factor for asthma, few data have been reported on the exposure to airborne fungi of asthmatic children living in US inner cities.We sought to examine the spectrum and concentration of fungi in the air inside and outside of the homes of mold-sensitive children with asthma living in US cities. We also analyzed the relationship of the concentration of fungi in indoor air to home characteristics.We performed a home environmental survey and measured the concentrations of culturable airborne fungi inside and outside the homes of 414 mold-sensitive children with asthma in 7 urban communities.The airborne fungi encountered indoors generally paralleled those found outdoors, and the similarities between communities were more striking than the differences. Indoor fungal concentrations were correlated with outdoor concentrations measured on the same day, suggesting the need to adjust for the outdoor concentration in analyses by using the indoor concentration as an indicator of the relative moldiness of a home. The concentration of fungi in indoor air in excess of outdoor air - that is, the indoor-outdoor difference - was significantly related to home characteristics, including dampness, having a cat, and cockroach infestation.Mold-sensitive children with asthma living in urban communities across the US are exposed to airborne fungi in indoor and outdoor air. The concentrations of fungi are higher in homes with dampness problems, cockroach infestation, and cats. The indoor-outdoor difference in the concentration of airborne fungi may provide a valuable metric for investigations of the role of fungal exposure as a risk factor for asthma.
AB - Despite growing evidence of the importance of exposure to fungi as an environmental risk factor for asthma, few data have been reported on the exposure to airborne fungi of asthmatic children living in US inner cities.We sought to examine the spectrum and concentration of fungi in the air inside and outside of the homes of mold-sensitive children with asthma living in US cities. We also analyzed the relationship of the concentration of fungi in indoor air to home characteristics.We performed a home environmental survey and measured the concentrations of culturable airborne fungi inside and outside the homes of 414 mold-sensitive children with asthma in 7 urban communities.The airborne fungi encountered indoors generally paralleled those found outdoors, and the similarities between communities were more striking than the differences. Indoor fungal concentrations were correlated with outdoor concentrations measured on the same day, suggesting the need to adjust for the outdoor concentration in analyses by using the indoor concentration as an indicator of the relative moldiness of a home. The concentration of fungi in indoor air in excess of outdoor air - that is, the indoor-outdoor difference - was significantly related to home characteristics, including dampness, having a cat, and cockroach infestation.Mold-sensitive children with asthma living in urban communities across the US are exposed to airborne fungi in indoor and outdoor air. The concentrations of fungi are higher in homes with dampness problems, cockroach infestation, and cats. The indoor-outdoor difference in the concentration of airborne fungi may provide a valuable metric for investigations of the role of fungal exposure as a risk factor for asthma.
KW - Airborne fungi
KW - home environmental characteristics
KW - indoor air
KW - indoor mold
KW - inner-city pediatric asthma
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jaci.2004.05.064
DO - 10.1016/j.jaci.2004.05.064
M3 - Article
C2 - 15356564
AN - SCOPUS:4444331792
SN - 0091-6749
VL - 114
SP - 599
EP - 606
JO - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
JF - Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
IS - 3
ER -