Continual Use Of Cleaning Products Linked To Asthma Risk in Children

A newly published longitudinal study out of Canada has found a robust association between frequent use of household cleaning products and an increased risk of youngsters developing asthma within the first three years of life.

"Most of the available evidence linking asthma to the utilization of cleaning products comes from research in adults," explains Tim Takaro, lead researcher on the project, from Simon Fraser University. "Our study  checked out  infants, who typically spend 80-90 percent of their time indoors and are especially  susceptible to  chemical exposures through the lungs and skin  thanks to  their higher respiration rates and regular contact with household surfaces."

The research gathered data from an ongoing study called CHILD (Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development) that are following over 3,400 children from pregnancy through childhood. However, the new research only focused on around 2,000 subjects within the study.

Parents were asked to report their frequency using 26 different common household cleaning products during their child’s first three months of life. These products included dishwashing detergents, surface sprays, and air fresheners. Follow-up occurred when the kid was around three years old,  to gauge the event of asthma or wheezing.

The results revealed a definite correlation between increased rates of asthma and therefore the frequency of cleaning product use. In fact,  the very best rate of cleaning product use was related to a 37 percent greater risk of developing asthma by the age of three.

"Interestingly, we didn't find an association between the utilization of cleaning products and risk of atopy alone," notes Takaro. Atopy being general allergic sensitization, evaluated through skin allergy tests. "Therefore, a proposed mechanism underlying these findings is that chemicals in cleaning products damage the cells that line the  tract  through innate inflammatory pathways  instead of  acquired allergic pathways."

The researchers don't rule out the increased asthma risk being associated with microbiome development disruptions influenced by the increased use of cleaning products. However, scented and sprayed products were linked with the very best rates of respiratory problems developing.  this means the association might be explained by volatile organic compounds within the air being inhaled and triggering an immune reaction within the child’s airways.

It is important to notice this is often an observational association, and causality can only be hypothesized. The researchers do point to a little body of study finding cleaning products and air fresheners can trigger asthma attacks in adults, suggesting this validates a possible causal link. Although it's worth noting, these studies also are mostly observational.

Jaclyn Parks, a lead author on the new research, says small interventions could end in lowering the danger of a toddler developing asthma. These include picking cleaning products that aren't sprayable and eliminating products with strong fragrances.

“The risks of recurrent wheeze and asthma were notably higher in homes with frequent use of certain products,  like liquid or solid air fresheners, plug-in deodorizers, dusting sprays, antimicrobial hand sanitizers, and oven cleaners," says Parks. "It could also be important for people to think about removing scented spray cleaning products from their cleaning routine. We believe that the smell of a healthy  house is  no smell  in the least ."