Indoor total volatile organic compounds exposure at 6 months followed by atopic dermatitis at 3 years in children

Background: Exposure to indoor air pollutants is thought to cause allergic inflammation. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the aggravating factors of asthma and other allergic diseases. However, the influence of VOCs on development of atopic dermatitis is ambiguous in the clinical field. We therefore investigated the associations of indoor total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and development of atopic dermatitis in young Korean children.

Methods: From the birth cohort of a MOthers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study, 257 infants, whose parents agreed with the environmental measurement, were enrolled. Total VOCs were measured in infant's bedrooms at the age of 6 month. A total of 105 parents answered a questionnaire at 36 month. Concentrations of TVOCs were divided into two groups by third quartile (75th). Associations between the high VOCs exposure group and development of atopic dermatitis at the age of 36 months were estimated by multivariate logistic regression.

Results: The average concentration of TVOCs was 174.7 ± 115.1 ㎍/m(3) . We defined the high TVOCs exposure group by those with more than 75 percentile of the distribution (242.1 ㎍/m(3) ). An increased risk of atopic dermatitis was observed in the high TVOCs exposure group, after adjustment for parents history of allergy, household income, breast-feeding longer than 6 month (OR = 3.116, 95% Cl 1.041-9.323). Risk of atopic dermatitis was increased when the family bought new furniture within 1 yr.

Conclusion: Our results showed that exposure to high concentration of VOCs during infancy, an indoor pollutant, increased the risk of atopic dermatitis at 36 months.