Exposure to moderate levels of locally emitted air pollution from traffic early in life appears to influence the development of airway disease and sensitization in preschool children.

Organophosphate esters and phthalate esters are commonly used as additives in numerous building materials and consumer products. The use of these compounds is increasing, and phosphate and phthalate esters are to be regarded as ubiquitous contaminants in the indoor environment. These compounds comprise a number of different compounds that have been associated with biologic effects in animal studies as well as in humans. Thus, it is of concern to increase the knowledge about human exposure of these compounds because of their presence in indoor air. In this paper, thirty indoor environments have been surveyed with respect to seventeen of the most abundant of these compounds.

This study was conducted to examine the impact of building characteristics and indoor air quality on recurrent wheezing in infants. We followed a birth cohort (BAMSE) comprising 4089 children, born in predefined areas of Stockholm, during their first 2 years of life. Information on exposures was obtained from parental questionnaires when the children were 2 months and on symptoms and diseases when the children were 1 and 2 years old. Children with recurrent wheezing, and two age-matched controls per case, were identified and enrolled in a nested case-control study. The homes were investigated and ventilation rate, humidity, temperature and NO2 measured. We found that living in an apartment erected after 1939, or in a private home with crawl space/concrete slab foundation were associated with an increased risk of recurrent wheezing, odds ratio (OR) 2.5 (1.3-4.8) and 2.5 (1.1-5.4), respectively. The same was true for living in homes with absolute indoor humidity >5.8 g/kg, OR 1.7 (1.0-2.9) and in homes where windowpane condensation was consistently reported over several years, OR 2.2 (1.1-4.5). However, air change rate and type of ventilation system did not seem to affect the risk. In conclusion, relatively new apartment buildings, single-family homes with crawl space/concrete slab foundation, elevated indoor humidity, and reported wintertime windowpane condensation were associated with recurrent wheezing in infants. Thus, improvements of the building quality may have potential to prevent infant wheezing.

Indicators of dampness, as well as recently repainted interior surfaces, appear to be associated with recurrent infant wheezing, with a strengthened effect of combined indoor exposures.