Pulmonary Health Effects of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds—A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are commonly found in consumer products, including furniture, sealants and paints. Thus, indoor VOCs have become a public health concern, especially in high-income countries (HICs), where people spend most of their time indoors, and indoor and outdoor air exchange is minimal due to a lack of ventilation. VOCs produce high levels of reaction with the airway epithelium and mucosa membrane and is linked with pulmonary diseases. This paper takes a stock of the literature to assess the strength of association (measured by effect size) between VOCs and pulmonary diseases with the focus on asthma and its related symptoms by conducting a meta-analysis. The literature was searched using the PubMed database. A total of 49 studies that measured VOCs or VOC types and pulmonary health outcomes were included in the analysis. The results of these studies were tabulated, and standard effect size of each study was computed. Most studies were conducted in high-income countries, including France (n = 7), Japan (n = 7) and the United States (n = 6). Our analysis suggests that VOCs have a medium-sized effect on pulmonary diseases, including the onset of asthma (effect size (or Cohen’s d) ~0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.25–0.49; n = 23) and wheezing (effective size ~0.26; 95% CI = 0.10–0.42; n = 10). The effect size also varied by country, age and disease type. Multiple stakeholders must be engaged in strategies to mitigate and manage VOC exposure and its associated pulmonary disease burden.

Pediatric Asthma Attack and Home Paint Exposure

“…Emerging literature document that early exposure to indoor VOCs from renovation, furniture and other sources are associated with onset and persistence of asthma symptoms and symptom severity [21][22][23][24]. While respiratory health effects of VOCs have been subject to research scrutiny [6,25,26], this research makes a novel contribution by assessing the association of paint exposure with asthma attack among children. The findings of this research have health and policy implications for managing VOC exposure from paints.…”

“…Extraneous factors, including allergens (e.g., mold and pollen spores and endotoxins) and other environmental exposures, are the main drivers of atopic asthma [5]. Indoor pollutants emitted from consumer products and building material play an important role in the onset and persistence of asthma and allergies [6]. While the effects of indoor pollutants and allergens on asthma severity have been subject to research scrutiny [1,2], the role of paint, an importance source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is not well understood.…”

Strengthening Australia’s Chemical Regulation

“…They are widespread and exposure to them is common [ 18 ]. The major health issues are cancers [ 19 ], asthma and related conditions [ 20 ], and the adverse perinatal outcomes of low birth weight and pre-term births [ 18 ]. Not only is airborne exposure important but exposure through vapor intrusion into buildings in both legacy “brown-field” sites and their surroundings due to sub-surface migration of VOCs in soil and groundwater [ 18 ].…”

Air Pollution and the Airways: Lessons from a Century of Human Urbanization

“…Using genome-wide transcriptional analysis, Gostner et al (2016) demonstrated that lipid biosynthesis and lung-associated functions were affected by lower exposure levels, while apoptosis was dominating in the higher exposure levels [93]. A recent meta-analysis demonstrated a medium-sized association between VOCs and pulmonary disease, including symptoms like wheezing and throat irritation [94]. Apparently, exposure to higher VOCs levels in human subjects in daily life is suggested to induce changes in airway inflammation, possibly increased T-helper (Th)2 inflammation [95].…”