PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München

Giovannangelo, M.* ; Gehring, U. ; Nordling, E.* ; Oldenwening, M.* ; Terpstra, G.* ; Bellander, T.* ; Hoek, G.* ; Heinrich, J. ; Brunekreef, B.*

Determinants of house dust endotoxin in three European countries – the AIRALLERG study.

Indoor Air 17, 70-79 (2007)
DOI PMC
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
The comparison of endotoxin levels between study populations and countries is limited as a result of differences in sampling, extraction, and storage procedures. The objective of this study is to assess the levels and determinants of endotoxin in mattress and living room floor dust samples from three European countries, namely, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, using a standardized sampling, storage, and analysis protocol. The mattress and living room floor dust was collected from the homes of 1065 German, Dutch, and Swedish (pre-)school children. All the samples were collected in the cool season and analyzed for endotoxin in a central laboratory. The determinants were assessed by a standardized questionnaire. The endotoxin concentrations in mattress and living room floor dust were found to be the highest in German homes and lowest in the Swedish ones. Differences between the geometric means were small (factor 1.1–1.7). Most of the associations between endotoxin concentrations and potential determinants were not statistically significant and heterogeneous across countries. However, keeping pets and having more than four persons living in the home were consistently associated with up to 1.7-fold higher endotoxin concentrations in mattress and floor dust. Furthermore, having carpets or rugs, and opening the windows frequently was associated with up to 3.4-fold and 1.3-fold higher endotoxin concentrations in living room floor dust, respectively. The proportion of variance explained by the questionnaire variables was generally low. In conclusion, the data on housing characteristics did not accurately predict the endotoxin concentrations in house dust, and could only partly explain the differences between countries.
Altmetric
Additional Metrics?
Edit extra informations Login
Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Children; Endotoxin; House Dust; Housing; Characteristics; Questionnaire
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0905-6947
e-ISSN 1600-0668
Journal Indoor Air
Quellenangaben Volume: 17, Issue: 1, Pages: 70-79 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Wiley
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed