A study on indoor environment contaminants related to dust mite in dwellings of allergic asthma patients and of healthy subjects

Summary This study investigated the pollution of dust mite allergens in the houses of 30 families and their infection to young allergic asthma patients in Shanghai. Medical records, family information, and dust samples were collected from the dwellings of 15 young allergic asthma patients and 15 healthy subjects. Der 1 allergen, which is a common allergen causing allergic asthma, was measured in collected dust samples using the Pharmacia UniCAP System. A significant correlation was found between the number of Der 1 allergens collected from floor surfaces and the number of Der 1 allergens collected from bed surfaces. Some factors influencing Der 1 allergen levels were found in this study. Relative humidity in dwellings was found to be most influential to the allergen levels. The findings suggested that traditional reduction methods for coarse particles, such as opening windows and periodic cleaning of beddings, may be effective in removing dust mite allergens.