Are house dust mite allergen levels influenced by cold winter weather?

被引:19
作者
Gehring, U
Brunekreef, B
Fahlbusch, B
Wichmann, HE
Heinrich, J
机构
[1] Univ Utrecht, Inst Risk Assessment Sci, NL-3508 TD Utrecht, Netherlands
[2] Univ Jena, Inst Immunol, D-6900 Jena, Germany
[3] GSF, Natl Res Ctr Environm & Hlth, Inst Epidemiol, Neuherberg, Germany
[4] Univ Munich, Chair Epidemiol, Inst Med Data Management Biometr & Epidemiol, Munich, Germany
关键词
allergen; climate; house dust; mite;
D O I
10.1111/j.1398-9995.2005.00872.x
中图分类号
R392 [医学免疫学];
学科分类号
100102 ;
摘要
Background: Moisture is vitally important for house dust mites and they cannot survive in cold or hot-dry climates. Aims of the study: To investigate the influence of two extraordinarily cold and dry winters in 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 on house dust mite levels in German homes. Methods: Dust samples were collected between June 1995 and December 2001 on the mattresses of 655 adults and 454 schoolchildren living in five different areas of Germany. We compared house dust mite allergen Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p 1) levels before and during the winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 with levels after these winters. Results: D. pteronyssinus (Der p 1) levels in samples taken after the cold winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 were approximately two times lower than Der p 1 levels in dust samples collected before or during these respective winters (Geometric means: Erfurt 89 vs 33 ng/g; Hamburg 333 vs 219 ng/g; Bitterfeld, Hettstedt, and Zerbst 296 vs 180 ng/g). Except for Hamburg, the decrease in Der p 1 levels was statistically significant. D. pteronyssinus levels measured in dust samples collected in 2001 (i.e. 3 years after the two cold winters) show a statistically non-significant increase (Geometric means: Erfurt 33 vs 39 ng/g; Hamburg 219 vs 317 ng/g), suggesting that it may take a long time for mite allergen levels to increase again after a sudden decrease. Conclusion: We conclude that Der p 1 levels in German mattress dust samples have been approximately reduced by a factor of three to four by the two consecutive cold winters of 1995/1996 and 1996/1997.
引用
收藏
页码:1079 / 1082
页数:4
相关论文
共 16 条
  • [1] Reducing relative humidity is a practical way to control dust mites and their allergens in homes in temperate climates
    Arlian, LG
    Neal, JS
    Morgan, MS
    Vyszenski-Moher, DL
    Rapp, CM
    Alexander, AK
    [J]. JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY, 2001, 107 (01) : 99 - 104
  • [2] La mano de DIOS ... was the PIAMA intervention study intervened upon?
    Brunekreef, B
    van Strien, R
    Pronk, A
    Oldenwening, M
    de Jongste, JC
    Wijga, A
    Kerkhof, M
    Aalberse, RC
    [J]. ALLERGY, 2005, 60 (08) : 1083 - 1086
  • [3] The Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort study: Design and first results
    Brunekreef, B
    Smit, J
    de Jongste, J
    Neijens, H
    Gerritsen, J
    Postma, D
    Aalberse, R
    Koopman, L
    Kerkhof, M
    Wijga, A
    van Strien, R
    [J]. PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, 2002, 13 : 55 - 60
  • [4] Allergens in house-dust samples in Germany:: results of an East-West German comparison
    Fahlbusch, B
    Heinrich, J
    Gross, I
    Jäger, L
    Richter, K
    Wichmann, HE
    [J]. ALLERGY, 1999, 54 (11) : 1215 - 1222
  • [5] Reproducibility of allergen, endotoxin and fungi measurements in the indoor environment
    Heinrich, J
    Hölscher, B
    Douwes, J
    Richter, K
    Koch, A
    Bischof, W
    Fahlbusch, B
    Kinne, RW
    Wichmann, HE
    [J]. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE ANALYSIS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, 2003, 13 (02): : 152 - 160
  • [6] HOUSE-DUST MITES AND ABSOLUTE INDOOR HUMIDITY
    KORSGAARD, J
    [J]. ALLERGY, 1983, 38 (02) : 85 - 92
  • [7] NATURAL VARIATION IN MITE ANTIGEN DENSITY IN-HOUSE DUST AND RELATIONSHIP TO RESIDENTIAL FACTORS
    KUEHR, J
    FRISCHER, T
    KARMAUS, W
    MEINERT, R
    BARTH, R
    SCHRAUB, S
    DASCHNER, A
    URBANEK, R
    FORSTER, J
    [J]. CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, 1994, 24 (03) : 229 - 237
  • [8] MITE ALLERGEN EXPOSURE IS A RISK FOR THE INCIDENCE OF SPECIFIC SENSITIZATION
    KUEHR, J
    FRISCHER, T
    MEINERT, R
    BARTH, R
    FORSTER, J
    SCHRAUB, S
    URBANEK, R
    KARMAUS, W
    [J]. JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY, 1994, 94 (01) : 44 - 52
  • [9] House dust mite allergens - A major risk factor for childhood asthma in Australia
    Peat, JK
    Tovey, E
    Toelle, BG
    Haby, MM
    Gray, EJ
    Mahmic, A
    Woolcock, AJ
    [J]. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, 1996, 153 (01) : 141 - 146
  • [10] Determinants of clinical allergic disease - The relevance of indoor allergens to the increase in asthma
    Platts-Mills, TAE
    Blumenthal, K
    Perzanowski, M
    Woodfolk, JA
    [J]. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE, 2000, 162 (03) : S128 - S133