Abstract
Exposure to cleaning products, in particular in spray form, has been evoked in recent studies to explain part of the increase in asthma prevalence, but most studies concerned occupational exposure. We aimed to assess the role of household exposure to cleaning products in current asthma in elderly women.
A nested case-control survey on respiratory health was undertaken in 2009 among a random sample (n=800) of women from the French E3N study, conducted mostly in teachers. Data were available for 570 women (235 with current asthma and 335 without asthma history, 68 years old on average). Two self-reported domestic exposure estimates were defined: weekly home cleaning and weekly spray use (0,1,>2 sprays/week). Associations between domestic exposures and asthma were assessed by logistic regression, adjusted for age, diploma, body mass index and smoking status.
A positive borderline significant association was observed between weekly use of >1 spray (binary variable) and current asthma (Odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval]: 1.45 [0.94-2.24], p=0.09), with a significant association (1.86 [1.04-3.33]) in the 325 women without cleaning help. A significant positive trend was evidenced in women without cleaning help (p for trend=0.04; OR for weekly use of >2 sprays: 2.63 [1.03-6.67]). A strong association was observed in women with current asthma and without dispensed inhaled corticosteroids (2.06 [1.22-3.46] for weekly use of >1 spray). No association was observed between weekly home cleaning and current asthma.
A deleterious role of household use of cleaning sprays was observed for current asthma, especially in women without cleaning help.
- © 2013 ERS
