Adolescent lung function associated with incense burning and other environmental exposures at home

Incense burning is a popular cultural and religious practice, but whether exposure to incense smoke has effects on lung function is unclear. We investigated association between lung function and incense burning exposure and other household exposures in adolescents who participated in a mass asthma-screening program. Information on asthmatic status and associated factors was obtained from parent-completed questionnaires and student-completed video questionnaires. Approximately 10% of students received lung function examinations. Valid lung function data of 5010 students aged 14-16years in northern Taiwan were analyzed. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory flow in 1second (FEV1) were compared by incense burning status and other types of exposures for adolescents. Overall, 70.6% of students were exposed to incense smoke at home. The mean FVC and FEV1 measures were lower among adolescents with daily exposure to incense burning than those without such exposure (P<.05). Sharing bedroom was also associated with decreased FVC and FEV1. After controlling for confounding factors, multivariable linear regression analysis with generalized estimation equation showed that FVC was negatively associated with daily exposure to incense burning, sharing a bedroom, and living in a house adjacent to a traffic road. Such associations were also observed in FEV1. Daily exposure to incense burning is associated with impaired adolescent lung function.