Those exposures include chemicals (such as volatile organic compounds and pesticides), biological agents, other particulates, environmental tobacco smoke, excessive dampness, and poor ergonomic, noise, thermal, and lighting conditions.
The discussion of indoor air pollutants focused on biologics (mold, dust mite, cockroach and rodent infestations), dampness, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
Environmental risk factors, such as house dampness and mothers' smoking, were not associated with allergic asthma, but only with non-allergic asthma [ 20].
Effect estimates were robust to adjustment for older siblings, breastfeeding, parental atopy, child care, maternal smoking during pregnancy, environmental tobacco smoke, visible mold or dampness, use of gas stove, birth season, and parental socioeconomic status.
Known risk factors for children are for instance young age [ 16], environmental tobacco smoke [ 17, 18], home-dampness [ 19, 20], and attending day-care centres [ 19, 21, 22].
The questions were selected to provide information on a range of topics including: asthma severity, asthma management, environmental risk factors, housing characteristics (ownership, crowding, heating, dampness etc)., and socio-economic indicators.
Effects of qualitatively assessed environmental fungi or of fungal components, fungal by-products, or other dampness-related agents are reviewed in the next section, "Dampness or dampness-related agents".
Our data provide no evidence for an association between the levels of indoor environmental factors such as pet feeding, incense burning, and home dampness.
However, dampness problems may also be related to other indoor environmental factors of importance, such as dust mites.
Current smoking at age 29 contributed to all symptom patterns; however, a substantial association between household dampness and co-occurring phlegm and cough suggest long-term detrimental effects of childhood environmental exposures.
