Do Questions Reflecting Indoor Air Pollutant Exposure from a Questionnaire Predict Direct Measure of Exposure in Owner-Occupied Houses?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

C.K. Jennifer Loo⁵  Richard G. Foty²  Amanda J. Wheeler⁴  J. David Miller¹  Greg Evans³  David M. Stieb⁴ 

[1] Chemistry Department, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada; E-Mail:;The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada; E-Mail:;University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2E5, Canada; E-Mail:;Health Canada, 269 Laurier Ave West, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9, Canada; E-Mails:;University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; E-Mail:

关键词: allergens;    environmental exposure;    house dust;    indoor air pollution;    questionnaire;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph7083270

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Home characteristic questions are used in epidemiological studies and clinical settings to assess potentially harmful exposures in the home. The objective of this study was to determine whether questionnaire-reported home characteristics can predict directly measured pollutants. Sixty home inspections were conducted on a subsample of the 2006 population-based Toronto Child Health Evaluation Questionnaire. Indoor/outdoor air and settled dust samples were analyzed. Mean Fel d 1 was higher (p < 0.0001) in homes with a cat (450.58 μg/g) versus without (22.28 μg/g). Mean indoor NO₂ was higher (p = 0.003) in homes with gas stoves (14.98 ppb) versus without (8.31 ppb). Self-reported musty odours predicted higher glucan levels (10554.37 μg/g versus 6308.58 μg/g, p = 0.0077). Der f 1 was predicted by the home’s age, but not by reports of carpets, and was higher in homes with mean relative humidity > 50% (61.30 μg/g, versus 6.24 μg/g, p = 0.002). Self-reported presence of a cat, a gas stove, musty odours, mice, and the home’s age and indoor relative humidity over 50% predicted measured indoor levels of cat allergens, NO₂, fungal glucan, mouse allergens and dust mite allergens, respectively. These results are helpful for understanding the significance of indoor exposures ascertained by self-reporting in large epidemiological studies and also in the clinical setting.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.