This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Students with asthma exposed to higher levels of indoor allergens at urban schools

ORLANDO, Fla. — Urban children with asthma are exposed to more mouse, dog and cat allergens at school than at home, according to a study presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Researchers analyzed settled dust and airborne samples from main activity areas at 12 inner-city schools. The samples were matched with students in the School Inner-City Asthma Study, and then compared to the students’ bedroom settled dust samples.

The researchers collected 229 settled dust samples from schools and 118 samples from homes. They detected higher settled dust levels at schools — including mouse (OR=6.45, 95% CI; 3.60-11.56, P<.0001), dog (OR=2.44, 95% CI; 1.47-4.04, P<.0008) and cat (OR=2.98, 95% CI: 1.46-6.09, P<.0032) — compared to homes, although less than 25% of the student subjects had home pets.

“Most studies of indoor allergens have focused on [the] home environment,” the study authors wrote. “However, schools may be an important site of allergen exposure for children with asthma.”

For more information:

• Permaul P. #240. Exposure to Indoor Allergens in Urban Elementary Schools and Homes of Children with Asthma. Presented at: The AAAAI 2012 Annual Meeting; March 2-6, 2012, Orlando, Fla.

Follow the PediatricSuperSite.com on Twitter.