[PHSW] [Fwd: COCKROACH ALLERGENS HAVE GREATEST IMPACT ON CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IN M ANY U.S. CITIES]

[Laura Larsson]

Friends:

Remember how your mother told you to keep your house clean? Mine 
did, too. Could it be that she was right? This finding from NIH 
seems to say so.

Hope you find this interesting given how many people are 
suffering from asthma.

Apologies if this is a duplicate message.

Laura

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: COCKROACH ALLERGENS HAVE GREATEST IMPACT ON CHILDHOOD 
ASTHMA IN M ANY U.S. CITIES
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 16:07:20 -0500
From: NIH OLIB (NIH/OD) <olib at OD.NIH.GOV>
Reply-To: NIH OLIB (NIH/OD) <olib at OD.NIH.GOV>
To: NIHPRESS at LIST.NIH.GOV

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

NIH News

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 8, 2005

CONTACT:
John Peterson
919-541-7860
peterso4 at niehs.nih.gov


COCKROACH ALLERGENS HAVE GREATEST IMPACT ON CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IN 
MANY U.S.
CITIES

New results from a nationwide study on factors that affect asthma in
inner-city children show that cockroach allergen appears to 
worsen asthma
symptoms more than either dust mite or pet allergens. This 
research, funded
by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 
(NIEHS) and the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 
part of the
National Institutes of Health, is the first large-scale study to 
show marked
geographic differences in allergen exposure and sensitivity in 
inner-city
children. Most homes in northeastern cities had high levels of 
cockroach
allergens, while those in the south and northwest had dust mite 
allergen
levels in ranges known to exacerbate asthma symptoms.

The study results are published in the March issue of the "Journal of
Allergy and Clinical Immunology."

"These data confirm that cockroach allergen is the primary 
contributor to
childhood asthma in inner-city home environments," said NIEHS 
Director
Kenneth Olden, Ph.D. "However, general cleaning practices, proven
extermination techniques and consistent maintenance methods can 
bring these
allergen levels under control."

Cockroach allergens come from several sources such as saliva, fecal
material, secretions, cast skins, and dead bodies. People can 
reduce their
exposure to cockroach allergen by eating only in the kitchen and 
dining
room, putting non-refrigerated items in plastic containers or 
sealable bags,
and taking out the garbage on a daily basis. Other measures include
repairing leaky faucets, frequent vacuuming of carpeted areas and
damp-mopping of hard floors, and regular cleaning of counter tops 
and other
surfaces.

NIH provided $7.5 million to researchers at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and seven other research 
institutions,
including the Data Coordinating Center at Rho, Inc., for the 
three-year
study.

"We found that a majority of homes in Chicago, New York City and 
the Bronx
had cockroach allergen levels high enough to trigger asthma 
symptoms, while
a majority of homes in Dallas and Seattle had dust mite allergen 
levels
above the asthma symptom threshold," said Dr. Rebecca Gruchalla, 
associate
professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University 
of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center and lead author of the study.

"We also discovered that the levels of both of these allergens were
influenced by housing type," noted Gruchalla. "Cockroach allergen 
levels
were highest in high-rise apartments, while dust mite 
concentrations were
greatest in detached homes."

While cockroach allergen exposure did produce an increase in asthma
symptoms, researchers did not find an increase in asthma symptoms 
as a
result of exposure to dust mite and pet dander. "Children who tested
positive for, and were exposed to, cockroach allergen experienced a
significant increase in the number of days with cough, wheezing 
and chest
tightness, number of nights with interrupted sleep, number of 
missed school
days, and number of times they had to slow down or discontinue 
their play
activity," said Gruchalla.

While cockroaches are primarily attracted to water sources and 
food debris,
house dust mites, microscopic spider-like creatures that feed on 
flakes of
human skin, reside in bedding, carpets, upholstery, draperies and 
other
"dust traps." Dust mite allergens are proteins that come from the 
digestive
tracts of mites and are found in mite feces.

Researchers tested 937 inner-city children with moderate to 
severe asthma
symptoms. The children, ages 5 to 11, were given skin tests for 
sensitivity
to cockroach and dust mite allergens, pet dander, and mold. 
Bedroom dust
samples were analyzed for the presence of each allergen type.

This study was part of the larger Inner-City Asthma Study, a 
cooperative
multi-center project comprised of seven asthma study centers 
across the
country. The goal of the study was to develop and implement a 
comprehensive,
cost-effective intervention program aimed at reducing asthma 
incidence among
children living in low socioeconomic areas.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is a 
federal agency
that conducts and funds basic research on the health effects of 
exposure to
environmental agents.

For more information, please contact John Peterson, public affairs
specialist with the NIEHS Office of Communications, at (919) 
541-7860, or
call Anne Oplinger, writer/editor with the National Institute of 
Allergy and
Infectious Diseases' Office of Communications, at (301) 402-1663.

##

This NIH News Release is available online at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2005/niehs-08.htm.

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-- 
Keep well and connected,

Laura Larsson
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Digital Assets Manager
Online Learning Developer
Information Appliance/PDA Trainer

Clinical Faculty
Health Services, SPHCM
University of Washington
larsson at u.washington.edu
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"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot 
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