Associations between home renovation and asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema among preschool children in Wuhan, China

ABSTRACT

To investigate the potential associations between household renovation and allergic diseases among preschool children in Wuhan, we conducted a large cross-sectional questionnaire survey among 9455 preschool children aged 3–6 years in Wuhan during November to December 2019. Data on demographics, health status, and home decoration conditions were analysed based on a questionnaire. Compared with tiles/stone/cement floor covering, the use of composite floor significantly increased the risk of diagnosed rhinitis and eczema among children (rhinitis: AOR, 95% CI: 1.36, 1.06–1.73; eczema: AOR, 95% CI: 1.47, 1.17–1.85). Household renovation had significant associations with diagnosed eczema (within 1 year before pregnancy: AOR, 95% CI: 1.34, 1.20–1.50; during pregnancy: AOR, 95% CI: 1.25, 1.08–1.44). This study suggests that use of artificial synthetic materials in home renovation during early childhood and pregnancy may be potential risk factors for childhood asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema.

KEYWORDS:

• Home renovation
• childhood health
• renovation materials and periods
• allergic disease

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the outstanding young and middle-aged technology innovation team project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (T2020003), Natural Science Foundation of China (81861138005), and The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) project (2017-05845).