Document Type
Article
Peer Reviewed
1
Publication Date
12-1-2006
Volume
114
Journal, Book or Conference Title
Environmental health perspectives
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Experimental data suggest that asthma exacerbation by ambient air pollutants is enhanced by exposure to endotoxin and allergens; however, there is little supporting epidemiologic evidence. METHODS: We evaluated whether the association of exposure to air pollution with annual prevalence of chronic cough, phlegm production, or bronchitis was modified by dog and cat ownership (indicators of allergen and endotoxin exposure). The study population consisted of 475 Southern California children with asthma from a longitudinal cohort of participants in the Children's Health Study. We estimated average annual ambient exposure to nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter < 10, 2.5, and 10-2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM10-2.5, respectively), elemental and organic carbon, and acid vapor from monitoring stations in each of the 12 study communities. Multivariate models were used to examine the effect of yearly variation of each pollutant. Effects were scaled to the variability that is common for each pollutant in representative communities in Southern California. RESULTS: Among children owning a dog, there were strong associations between bronchitic symptoms and all pollutants examined. Odds ratios ranged from 1.30 per 4.2 microg/m3 for PM10-2.5 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91-1.87) to 1.91 per 1.2 microg/m3 for organic carbon (95% CI, 1.34-2.71). Effects were somewhat larger among children who owned both a cat and dog. There were no effects or small effects with wide CIs among children without a dog and among children who owned only a cat. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that dog ownership, a source of residential exposure to endotoxin, may worsen the relationship between air pollution and respiratory symptoms in asthmatic children.
Keywords
Adolescent, Air Pollution, Animals, Asthma, California, Cats, Child, Cohort Studies, Dogs, Female, Humans, Male, Multivariate Analysis, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ownership, Ozone, Particulate Matter, Respiratory Sounds, Respiratory Tract Diseases, Sustainability
Published Article/Book Citation
"McConnell R, Berhane K, Molitor J, Gilliland F, Künzli N, Thorne PS, Thomas D, Gauderman WJ, Avol E, Lurmann F, Rappaport E, Jerrett M, Peters JM. Dog Ownership Enhances Symptomatic Responses to Air Pollution in Children with Asthma. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Dec;114(12):1910-5. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8548. "
Rights
The article was published in Environmental Health Perspectives, . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/ppmc/articles/PMC1764158/ Author posting. Copyright © 2006, National Institute of Environemtnal Health Sciences. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original DOI
URL
http://ir.uiowa.edu/oeh_pubs/18