ADELAIDE, Australia, May 10 (UPI) -- Australian researchers find that higher levels of indoor air pollutants are linked to worsening symptoms in children with asthma.
Monika Nitschke of the University of Adelaide examined the relationship between two major indoor air pollutants -- nitrogen dioxide and dust mites -- and asthma symptoms in 174 asthmatic schoolchildren.
Indoor nitrogen-dioxide levels were measured at home and school, while levels of house dust-mite allergen were measured in dust samples from the children's mattresses.
For both indoor air pollutants, higher exposure levels were linked to increased asthma symptoms, according to the study published in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Children exposed to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide at school were more likely to have breathing difficulties, both during the day and at night, as well as nighttime chest tightness. Higher levels of nitrogen dioxide in home kitchens were also associated with increased asthma symptoms.
"Exposure to nitrogen oxide emitted by unflued gas appliances indoors and exposure to house dust mites in bed can exacerbate asthma in children," said Nitschke.
