TY - JOUR
T1 - Common household activities are associated with elevated particulate matter concentrations in bedrooms of inner-city Baltimore pre-school children
AU - McCormack, Meredith C.
AU - Breysse, Patrick N.
AU - Hansel, Nadia N.
AU - Matsui, Elizabeth C.
AU - Tonorezos, Emily S.
AU - Curtin-Brosnan, Jean
AU - Williams, D'Ann L.
AU - Buckley, Timothy J.
AU - Eggleston, Peyton A.
AU - Diette, Gregory B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the NIEHS (PO1 ES 09606) and EPA (PO1 R-826724) and the Johns Hopkins NIEHS Center in Urban Environmental Health (P30 ES 03819).
PY - 2008/2
Y1 - 2008/2
N2 - Asthma disproportionately affects inner-city, minority children in the U.S. Outdoor pollutant concentrations, including particulate matter (PM), are higher in inner-cities and contribute to childhood asthma morbidity. Although children spend the majority of time indoors, indoor PM exposures have been less extensively characterized. There is a public health imperative to characterize indoor sources of PM within this vulnerable population to enable effective intervention strategies. In the present study, we sought to identify determinants of indoor PM in homes of Baltimore inner-city pre-school children. Children ages 2-6 (n=300) who were predominantly African-American (90%) and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were enrolled. Integrated PM2.5 and PM10 air sampling was conducted over a 3-day period in the children's bedrooms and at a central monitoring site while caregivers completed daily activity diaries. Homes of pre-school children in inner-city Baltimore had indoor PM concentrations that were twice as high as simultaneous outdoor concentrations. The mean indoor PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were 39.5±34.5 and 56.2±44.8 μg/m3, compared to the simultaneously measured ambient PM2.5 and PM10 (15.6±6.9 and 21.8±9.53 μg/m3, respectively). Common modifiable household activities, especially smoking and sweeping, contributed significantly to higher indoor PM, as did ambient PM concentrations. Open windows were associated with significantly lower indoor PM. Further investigation of the health effects of indoor PM exposure is warranted, as are studies to evaluate the efficacy of PM reduction strategies on asthma health of inner-city children.
AB - Asthma disproportionately affects inner-city, minority children in the U.S. Outdoor pollutant concentrations, including particulate matter (PM), are higher in inner-cities and contribute to childhood asthma morbidity. Although children spend the majority of time indoors, indoor PM exposures have been less extensively characterized. There is a public health imperative to characterize indoor sources of PM within this vulnerable population to enable effective intervention strategies. In the present study, we sought to identify determinants of indoor PM in homes of Baltimore inner-city pre-school children. Children ages 2-6 (n=300) who were predominantly African-American (90%) and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were enrolled. Integrated PM2.5 and PM10 air sampling was conducted over a 3-day period in the children's bedrooms and at a central monitoring site while caregivers completed daily activity diaries. Homes of pre-school children in inner-city Baltimore had indoor PM concentrations that were twice as high as simultaneous outdoor concentrations. The mean indoor PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were 39.5±34.5 and 56.2±44.8 μg/m3, compared to the simultaneously measured ambient PM2.5 and PM10 (15.6±6.9 and 21.8±9.53 μg/m3, respectively). Common modifiable household activities, especially smoking and sweeping, contributed significantly to higher indoor PM, as did ambient PM concentrations. Open windows were associated with significantly lower indoor PM. Further investigation of the health effects of indoor PM exposure is warranted, as are studies to evaluate the efficacy of PM reduction strategies on asthma health of inner-city children.
KW - Air pollution
KW - Asthma
KW - Particulate matter
KW - Pediatric
KW - Urban
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=38549152407&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2007.08.012
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2007.08.012
M3 - Article
C2 - 17927974
AN - SCOPUS:38549152407
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 106
SP - 148
EP - 155
JO - Environmental research
JF - Environmental research
IS - 2
ER -