Exposures to humidifier disinfectant and various health conditions in Korean based on personal exposure assessment data of claimants for compensation

Background Humidifier disinfectants (HDs) were commonly used household chemicals to prevent microbial growth in a humidifier water tank in South Korea. A growing body of evidence has indicated that its airborne exposure can induce severe lung injury. However, there has been low awareness of other he...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC public health 2023-10, Vol.23 (1), p.1-1800, Article 1800
Main Authors: Hong, Myeongjin, Ju, Min Jae, Yoon, Jeonggyo, Lee, Wonyoung, Lee, Seula, Jo, Eun-kyung, Choi, Seo-Youn, Yang, Wonho, Choi, Yoon-Hyeong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antiseptics
Asthma
Bacterial pneumonia
Bans
Brain diseases
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases
Cell death
Cerebrovascular diseases
Chemicals
Compensation
Disinfectants
Disinfection & disinfectants
Disinfection and disinfectants
Environmental aspects
Environmental health
Exposure
Health aspects
High-definition television
Household chemicals
Households
Humidifier disinfectant
Humidifier disinfectant exposure
Humidifiers
Hydrogen sulfide
Indoor air pollution
Indoor environments
Lung cancer
Lung diseases
Microorganisms
Occupational exposure
Occupational health
Pneumonia
Prevention
Questionnaires
Regression analysis
Regression models
Reported health conditions
Respiratory diseases
Risk factors
Skin diseases
Sociodemographics
Statistical analysis
Surveys
Trends
Water tanks
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Summary:Background Humidifier disinfectants (HDs) were commonly used household chemicals to prevent microbial growth in a humidifier water tank in South Korea. A growing body of evidence has indicated that its airborne exposure can induce severe lung injury. However, there has been low awareness of other health outcomes in HD users. This study aimed to evaluate health conditions appealed by claimants for compensation in relation with an increased exposure to HD. Methods From survey data of personal HD exposure assessment of claimants for compensation in Korea, we included a total of 4,179 subjects [cases in each dataset were defined by nine reported health conditions, i.e., pneumonia, asthma, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, otorhinolaryngologic disease, brain disease (including cerebrovascular disease), dermatological disease, lung cancer, and all cancers]. HD exposures was considered as the following exposure criteria: exposure duration, exposure proximity, exposure direction, chemical type, cumulative exposure time, indoor air concentration, and cumulative exposure level. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between HD exposure and health conditions. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic and health behavioral factors and other chemical exposures (households, environmental, and occupational exposures), an increase in cumulative HD exposure time was significantly associated with risks of all nine diseases (all p-trends < 0.05). An increase in HD exposure duration was associated with asthma, respiratory disease, otorhinolaryngologic disease, dermatological disease, all cancers, and lung cancer (p-trends < 0.05). Indoor HD concentration was associated with only pneumonia (p-trend = 0.015). Conclusions Our findings suggest that cumulative exposures to airborne HD might potentially increase the risk of various reported health outcomes. Keywords: Humidifier disinfectant, Humidifier disinfectant exposure, Reported health conditions
ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-023-16389-x