PubMed · 14610757
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Jennifer A D Smith. Mold.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14610757/
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The RAD Laboratory measured annual means of radon activity concentrations in 15 277 first-floor rooms of dwellings and in 325 rooms on upper floors in Hungary (1994-2004). The original purpose of the survey was to find radon-prone area in Hungary. The maximum measured value was 5800 Bq m(-3), while the minimum was 10 Bq m(-3). Due to geological diversity and different structures of buildings, the data set of first-floor rooms did not follow the lognormal distribution. Therefore, strata were chosen so that the measured data fitted the lognormal distribution. The numbers of dwellings above a given radon level were determined in each stratum. The national distribution was then taken as the sum of the individual distributions of all strata. This distribution was not lognormal. The parameters of the best fitting lognormal distribution were GM = 58 Bq m(-3), GSD = 2.2. The weighted averages of strata values GM = 62 Bq m(-3), GSD=2.1 were obtained corresponding to 92% of Hungarian dwellings.
Few epidemiological studies report on reliability of exposure measurements even though this significantly influences the results of correlation and regression analysis often used in these studies. Poor reliability of exposure measurement reduces the ability to detect a true association between a certain component and health outcome variables. The aim of this study was to determine the ratio of the within-home and between-home components of variance of a number of biocontaminants measured in house dust in the framework of an international study conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden (the AIRALLERG study). To this end, duplicate dust samples were collected from children's beds and from living room floors in over 100 homes. Samples were taken at the same point in time. Variables considered were the dust mass collected in mg/m2 and the concentrations of the house dust mite allergens Der p 1 and Der f 1, cat allergen Fel d 1, endotoxin, (1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucan and extracellular polysaccharides, all per gram of dust and per square meter of sampling surface. An analysis of variance showed that the within-home variance was small compared to the between-home variance for most variables (mostly less than half) with the exception of glucan on mattresses, when expressed in mug/g. Investigation of variation over time is needed for a more complete assessment of the use of these variables in epidemiological analyses of exposure-response relationships.
Environmental tobacco smoke is an important respiratory tract irritant in young children. To identify factors associated with respiratory disease and determine the main source of smoking exposure in the household, a cross-sectional study of 2,037 children who were immunized in primary health care clinics was conducted (in a sample of 10 out of 38 clinics with 200 children each). Parents answered a questionnaire about children's birth, passive smoking, former and current respiratory morbidity, socio-demographic characteristics, and living conditions. Analysis was based on hierarchical logistic regression. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms was 59.9% for children who live with smokers. Asthma and bronchitis showed the strongest association with smoking. In multivariate logistic regression, the following variables remained associated with asthma/bronchitis: socioeconomic status (OR = 2.93; 95%CI: 1.57-5.45), maternal schooling (OR = 1.46; 95%CI: 1.08-1.98)] and occupation (OR = 1.68; 95%CI: 1.04-2.74), neighborhood (OR = 1.47; 95%CI: 1.06-2.02), child's age (OR = 3.38; 95%CI: 2.31-4.95) and sex (OR = 1.46; 95%CI: 1.09-1.94), breastfeeding (OR = 1.66; 95%CI: 1.15-2.40), and household smoking (OR = 1.58; 95%CI: 1.18-2.11). Children with lower socioeconomic status and exposed to household smoking showed increased risk of respiratory disease.