PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gitte Juel Holst
AU  - Ann Dorte Pørneki
AU  - Jonas Lindgreen
AU  - Betina Thuesen
AU  - Jakob Bønløkke
AU  - Collin Brooks
AU  - Jeroen Douwes
AU  - Allan Linneberg
AU  - Torben Sigsgaard
TI  - Indoor microbial exposure in relation to allergy and respiratory health in adults
AID  - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.PA4241
DP  - 2016 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - PA4241
VI  - 48
IP  - suppl 60
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/48/suppl_60/PA4241.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/48/suppl_60/PA4241.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2016 Sep 01; 48
AB  - BACKGROUND: Divergent results have been reported regarding indoor microbial exposures and the risk of asthma and allergy.OBJECTIVE: To study the association of house-dust associated microbial exposure with respiratory symptoms and lung function by atopic status.METHODS: This investigation was a case-cohort study nested within the Health2006 cohort comprising 108 atopics in the age 30-49 years and 151 randomly selected controls. Bedroom dust was analyzed for: (1) microbial components: bacterial endotoxin and fungal β-(1,3)-D-glucan, (2) 19 microorganisms by using quantitative PCR, (3) the total fungal load, and (4) microbial diversity (min 1; max 18). Skin-prick-testing (SPT) determined atopic sensitization. Lung function was measured including: forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and the ratio FEV1/FVC.RESULTS: For microbial components, no consistent or statistical significant associations were found for endotoxin, whereas higher β-(1,3)-D-glucan loads tended to be associated with poorer health outcomes, although only associations with rhinitis, FEV1 and FVC were statistical significant. Only few associations were found for individual microorganisms, while an overall pattern was observed of an inverse association between higher microbial diversity and higher total fungal load with a lower risk of allergic diseases and asthma outcomes and a higher lung function. Similar associations were found for atopics and the random sample.CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that asthma and allergy may be influenced by the microbial species composition and quantity of microorganisms present in urban domestic environments.