Indoor exposure to particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in dwellings and workplaces and respiratory health in French farmers

Cara Nichole Maesano; Denis Caillaud; Hassani Youssouf; Soutrik Banerjee; Julie Prud'Homme; Christelle Audi; Kigninlman Horo; Yacouba Toloba; Ollivier Ramousse; Isabella Annesi-Maesano

doi:10.1186/s40248-019-0194-3

Indoor exposure to particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in dwellings and workplaces and respiratory health in French farmers

Multidiscip Respir Med. 2019 Oct 2:14:33. doi: 10.1186/s40248-019-0194-3. eCollection 2019.

Affiliations

¹ 1Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory diseases department (EPAR), Institut Pierre Louis d'Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique, INSERM, Sorbonne Université, Medical School St Antoine, 27 rue Chaligny, 75571 Paris CEDEX 12, France.
² 2Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital Gabriel Montpied, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
³ 3Intensive Care Unit and Respiratory Diseases Department, CHU, Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
⁴ Service de pneumologie, CHU du Point-G, Bamako, E1631 Mali.
⁵ Mutuelle Salariés Agricoles, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Abstract

Introduction: Few investigations have related objective assessments of indoor air pollutants to respiratory health in farmers, in spite of the many rural environmental hazards to which they are exposed. Chemical air pollution has been particularly neglected.

Objective: We investigated the relationships of indoor exposure to particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to respiratory health in farmers.

Methods: Nineteen VOCs (5 families) and PM (from ultrafine to total suspended particles (TSP)) were objectively assessed in dwellings and workplaces in 109 French farmers during a week. To take into account multiple exposures, scores of exposure were computed for total VOCs and VOCs families. Individuals filled a standardized questionnaire and underwent spirometry with bronchodilation test.

Results: On average, VOCs concentrations were higher in dwellings than in workplaces. The reverse was observed for PM. When considering the mean concentrations of air pollutants for the whole farm (dwellings + workplaces), asthma (9.3%) was positively associated with elevated exposure to benzene (adjusted odds-ratio (ORa) = 6.64, 95%CI: 1.56-28.27), trichloroethylene (4.80, 1.00-23.30) and halogenated hydrocarbons score (2.9, 95% 1.3-6.8). Early airway obstruction (FEF_25-75 < 80%, with normal FEV₁ and FVC and FEV/FVC ≥ 70%) (29.8%) was related to elevated exposure to 2-butoxyetylacetate (11.49, 1.55-85.37) and glycol ethers score (2.0; 1.0-4.1) in the whole farm and to PM_2.5 (ORa = 5.26, 95% CI: 1.09-25.28) in the granary/stable. The risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (FEV/FVC < 70%) (COPD) (4.26%) was found to be larger with elevated exposure to aldehydes (OR = 3.95, 1.09-14.26).

Conclusion: Indoor chemical air pollution is detrimental to farmers' respiratory health. More epidemiological investigations with detailed exposure assessments and clinical measures of respiratory effects are needed in rural settings to corroborate these findings.

Keywords: Air chemicals; Asthma; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Early airway obstruction; Multipollution; Rural; Total suspended particles; Ultrafine particles; VOC; VOCs score.