Quantification of airborne moulds in the homes of children with and without wheeze.

Strachan, D P; Flannigan, B.; McCabe, E M; McGarry, F

doi:10.1136/thx.45.5.382

Cited by 149 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Results have shown null, weak, and significant positive associations among the two exposure types as well as inconsistencies across studies with respect to the taxa showing associations with home characteristics (Waegemaekers et al, 1989;Strachan et al, 1990;Wickman et al, 1992;Li and Hsu, 1997;Garrett et al, 1998;Ren et al, 2001;Chew et al, 2003;O'Connor et al, 2004). These inconsistencies could be secondary to geographic location, season of sampling, as well as housing types and construction materials.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Numerous studies (primarily cross-sectional in design) involving older children and adults have reported at least one positive association between total airborne fungal or bacterial counts, or specific fungal taxa including Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus or Alternaria species, and respiratory symptoms including cough, wheeze and asthma (Platt et al, 1989;Strachan et al, 1990;Bjornsson et al, 1995;Li and Hsu, 1997;Garrett et al, 1998;Dharmage et al, 2001;Downs et al, 2001). Null findings in all age groups also have been reported for both airborne (Su et al, 2001) and dustborne fungi (Wickman et al, 1992;Verhoeff et al, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma

Rosenbaum

Crawford

Anagnost

et al. 2009

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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In studies worldwide, respiratory outcomes such as cough, wheeze and asthma have been consistently linked to mold exposure. Young children spend most of their time indoors and may be particularly vulnerable. We evaluated the associations between exposure to airborne fungal levels and episodes of wheezing in a cohort of 103 infants at risk for asthma (due to maternal history of asthma), living primarily in low-income urban settings. Using a new protocol that facilitates identification of rare and slow-growing fungi, we measured the type and concentration of cultured fungi in home air samples taken early in the infant's first year of life. We also inspected the homes for visible mold, water damage and other housing and environmental conditions. All homes had measurable indoor airborne fungi and 73%, had some sign of mold, water damage, dampness or a musty odor. One or more episodes of wheeze during the first year of life were observed in 38% of infants. Multiple logistic regression showed high indoor levels of Penicillium were a significant risk factor for wheeze (OR 6.18; 95% CI: 1.34-28.46) in the first year of life after controlling for season of sampling, smoking, endotoxin levels, day care attendance and confounders. Acrodontium, a rarely reported fungal genus, was detected in 18% of study homes, and was associated with wheeze in unadjusted models (OR 2.75; 95% CI 0.99-7.61), but not after adjustment for confounders. Total fungal levels, visually observed mold, dampness, water damage or musty odors were not significantly associated with wheeze.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma

Rosenbaum

Crawford

Anagnost

et al. 2009

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…(22) Generally, air sampling has been a commonly used method to assess fungal exposure and has also been described as the most representative of human respiratory exposure. (35,(72)(73)(74)(75)(76) However, this study has demonstrated that short-term air sampling may not be an indicative measure of mold contamination in the indoor environment, as the number of spores released by the source (FSSST) did not relate to the airborne spore concentration. This was the case even though the indoor mold contamination levels were approximately an order of magnitude higher than the outdoor levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(3,33,34) Furthermore, some health effects, especially respiratory allergies, have been shown to be associated with the total spore count rather than with the CFU count. (33,35) Similar to the CFU count, there are some advantages and disadvantages of the total spore count method. Two advantages are that (1) both viable and nonviable spores can be included, and (2) the total count is less time-consuming than the CFU analysis (can be performed within hours of sample collection).…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Niemeier

Sivasubramani

Reponen

et al. 2006

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

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In an effort to better understand the relationship between different fungal sampling methods in the indoor environment, four methods were used to quantify mold contamination in 13 homes with visible mold. Swab, fungal spore source strength tester (FSSST), and air samples (total of 52 samples) were analyzed using both the microscopic (total spore count) and culture-based (CFU count) enumeration techniques. Settled dust samples were analyzed for culturable fungi only, as the microscopic enumeration was restricted by the masking effect. The relationships between the data obtained with the different sampling methods were examined using correlation analysis. Significant relationships were observed between the data obtained from swab and FSSST samples both by the total counting (r = 0.822, p <0.05) and by the CFU counting (r = 0.935, p <0.01). No relationships were observed between air and FSSST samples or air and settled dust samples. Percentage culturability of spores for each sampling method was also calculated and found to vary greatly for all three methods (swab: 0.03% to 63%, FSSST: 0.1% to >100%, air: 0.7% to 79%). These findings confirm that reliance on one sampling or enumeration method for characterization of an indoor mold source might not provide an accurate estimate of fungal contamination of a microenvironment. Furthermore, FSSST sampling appears to be an effective measurement of a mold source in the field, providing an upper bound estimate of potential mold spore release into the indoor air. Because of the small sample size of this study, however, further research is needed to better understand the observed relationships in this study. Keywords air sampling; indoor fungi; settled dustIt has been estimated that 20% to 40% of homes in Northern Europe and Canada have mold contamination. (1) This number is likely to be much higher in tropical and subtropical countries. (2,3) In the United States, as many as 40% of homes have mold problems. (1,4) Various health effects, such as respiratory symptoms, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, are associated with mold exposure. (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12) A case control study conducted in Europe suggested a relationship between increases in symptoms in asthmatic patients and increased mold and moisture problems in the home. (13) Other studies have shown that exposure to visible mold, or excessive moisture, which promotes mold growth, leads to an increase in allergic symptoms. (6,8,(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) Toxicity caused by exposure to the metabolites of certain molds have also been linked to health effects. (6,21) However, the relationship between specific health effects and the mold spore concentration has not been well defined. (6) It has been criticized that the methodologies for sampling and analysis are neither

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“…However, attempts to correlate health outcomes with spore counts have not indicated strong associations. Furthermore, several field studies have shown that the concentrations of airborne fungal spores in mold problem buildings are not necessarily higher than in non-problem ones (Strachan et al, 1990;Nevalainen et al, 1991;Garrett et al, 1998;Chew et al, 2003). This indicates that spore concentrations may not be an adequate measure for fungal exposures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal fragments in moldy houses: A field study in homes in New Orleans and Southern Ohio

Reponen

Seo

Grimsley

et al. 2007

Atmospheric Environment

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Smaller-sized fungal fragments (<1 μm) may contribute to mold-related health effects. Previous laboratory-based studies have shown that the number concentration of fungal fragments can be up to 500 times higher than that of fungal spores, but this has not yet been confirmed in a field study due to lack of suitable methodology. We have recently developed a field-compatible method for the sampling and analysis of airborne fungal fragments. The new methodology was utilized for characterizing fungal fragment exposures in mold-contaminated homes selected in New Orleans, Louisiana and Southern Ohio. Airborne fungal particles were separated into three distinct size fractions: (i) >2.25 μm (spores); (ii) 1.05-2.25 μm (mixture); and (iii) < 1.0 μm (submicrometersized fragments). Samples were collected in five homes in summer and winter and analyzed for (1→3)-β-D-glucan. The total (1→3)-β-D-glucan varied from 0.2 to 16.0 ng m −3 . The ratio of (1→3)-β-D-glucan mass in fragment size fraction to that in spore size fraction (F/S) varied from 0.011 to 2.163. The mass ratio was higher in winter (average = 1.017) than in summer (0.227) coinciding with a lower relative humidity in the winter. Assuming a mass-based F/S-ratio=1 and the spore size = 3 μm, the corresponding number-based F/S-ratio (fragment number/spore number) would be 10 3 and 10 6 , for the fragment sizes of 0.3 and 0.03 μm, respectively. These results indicate that the actual (field) contribution of fungal fragments to the overall exposure may be very high, even much greater than that estimated in our earlier laboratory-based studies.

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Quantification of airborne moulds in the homes of children with and without wheeze.

Cited by 149 publications

References 17 publications

Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma

Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma

Assessment of Fungal Contamination in Moldy Homes: Comparison of Different Methods

Fungal fragments in moldy houses: A field study in homes in New Orleans and Southern Ohio

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