Housing conditions and risk of incident COPD: a Danish cohort study, 2000-2018.

Background: More knowledge is needed on the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) associated with housing conditions and indoor environment based on cohort studies with a long follow-up time.

Objective: To examine the association between housing conditions and indoor environment and the risk of developing COPD.

Methods: In this cohort study, we followed 11,590 individuals aged ≥ 30 years free of COPD at baseline.

Indoor air quality guidelines from across the world: An appraisal considering energy saving, health, productivity, and comfort.

Buildings are constructed and operated to satisfy human needs and improve quality of life. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort are prerequisites for human health and well-being. For their provision, buildings often rely on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which may lead to higher energy consumption.

The Association between Perceived Annoyances in the Indoor Home Environment and Respiratory Infections: A Danish Cohort Study with up to 19 Years of Follow-Up.

The increasing prevalence of reported annoyances in the indoor environment threatens public health. This study aimed to investigate the association between perceived annoyances from the home environment and respiratory infections among individuals with and without asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A total of 16,688 individuals from the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey initiated in 2000 were grouped according to their patterns of perceived annoyances.

Cancer Risk following Residential Exposure to Airborne Polychlorinated Biphenyls: A Danish Register-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are biopersistent chemicals classified as human carcinogens. This classification is primarily based on evidence on higher-chlorinated PCBs found in food. The carcinogenic potential of airborne lower-chlorinated PCBs remains largely unexplored.

Patterns of Perceived Indoor Environment in Danish Homes.

The indoor environment is composed of several exposures existing simultaneously. Therefore, it might be useful to combine exposures into common combined measures when used to assess the association with health. The aim of our study was to identify patterns of the perceived indoor environment.

The impact of stress and lifestyle factors on short-term sickness absence in a large Danish industrial company.

Work-related stress and certain lifestyles have been associated with sickness absence among employees. We analysed relations between stress and lifestyles (as risk factors) and short-term sickness absence among employees of a large Danish industrial company. Moreover, we analysed the impact of risk factors on short-term sickness absence.

PCB in air, dust and surface wipes in 73 Danish homes.

As part of an investigation of the total indoor exposure of residents in PCB contaminated apartments in a building estate in Denmark, 73 homes were visited. Samples of air, vacuum cleaner dust and surface wipes were taken and analysed for 15 PCB congeners. The 53 apartments located in high-rise buildings with indoor PCB containing sealants showed significant elevated total concentrations of PCB in air, dust and surface wipes compared to 20 reference homes.

PCB in serum and hand wipes from exposed residents living in contaminated high-rise apartment buildings and a reference group.

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in buildings constructed with PCB-containing materials can lead to increased body burden of PCB for building users. Exposure to PCB from building related sources was assessed by measuring PCB in serum and hand wipes in two groups of tenants living in the same building estate in apartments constructed with and without PCB. The median serum levels of the sum of 19 PCB congeners was 777 ng/g lw (5-95th percentile: 219-2576 ng/g lw) for the exposed group and 282 ng/g lw (5-95th percentile: 49.

Laboratory investigation of PCB bake-out from tertiary contaminated concrete for remediation of buildings.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in flexible construction products from the 1950s to the 1970s. Despite a relatively low vapour pressure, PCBs have over the years emitted to the indoor air and adsorbed to other surfaces, creating tertiary sources. While necessary to protect the environment and health of building occupants, remediation of the contaminated buildings is an expensive and difficult process.

C-Depth Method to Determine Diffusion Coefficient and Partition Coefficient of PCB in Building Materials.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found to be persistent in the environment and possibly harmful. Many buildings are characterized with high PCB concentrations. Knowledge about partitioning between primary sources and building materials is critical for exposure assessment and practical remediation of PCB contamination.

Indoor and outdoor exposure to ultrafine, fine and microbiologically derived particulate matter related to cardiovascular and respiratory effects in a panel of elderly urban citizens.

To explore associations of exposure to ambient and indoor air particulate and bio-aerosol pollutants with cardiovascular and respiratory disease markers, we utilized seven repeated measurements from 48 elderly subjects participating in a 4-week home air filtration study. Microvascular function (MVF), lung function, blood leukocyte counts, monocyte adhesion molecule expression, C-reactive protein, Clara cell protein (CC16) and surfactant protein-D (SPD) were examined in relation to exposure preceding each measurement. Exposure assessment included 48-h urban background monitoring of PM10, PM2.

Emission of isothiazolinones from water-based paints.

The isothiazolinone preservatives methylisothiazolinone (MI), methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI), and benzisothiazolinone (BIT) are used in a wide variety of products including paint and cosmetics, and they are known to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Among painters they are one of the most common causes of contact dermatitis. Furthermore, they are all volatile, and severe reactions caused by emissions of especially MI from paint have been reported recently.

An indoor air filtration study in homes of elderly: cardiovascular and respiratory effects of exposure to particulate matter.

Background: Exposure to particulate air pollution increases respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially in elderly, possibly through inflammation and vascular dysfunction.

Methods: We examined potential beneficial effects of indoor air filtration in the homes of elderly, including people taking vasoactive drugs.Forty-eight nonsmoking subjects (51 to 81 years) in 27 homes were included in this randomized, double-blind, crossover intervention study with consecutive two-week periods with or without the inclusion of a high-efficiency particle air filter in re-circulating custom built units in their living room and bedroom.

Plasma polychlorinated biphenyls in residents of 91 PCB-contaminated and 108 non-contaminated dwellings-an exposure study.

Background: In the1950s-1970s polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used in several countries as plasticizers in elastic sealants in buildings.

Objective: The primary objective was to study whether residents of PCB-contaminated dwellings had higher plasma levels of PCBs than their neighbours in non-contaminated dwellings. The secondary objective was to study possible associations between concentrations of PCBs in the indoor air and in the plasma of residents.

Sampling, extraction and measurement of bacteria, endotoxin, fungi and inflammatory potential of settling indoor dust.

Selection of sampling device, sampling location and period are important first steps in the measurement of exposure to bioaerosols in indoor air. The steps following the sampling include treatment of samples and laboratory analysis. In this study, settling bacteria, endotoxin, fungi and serine protease have been measured in Danish homes using Electrostatic Dust Fall Collectors (EDCs).

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in indoor air originating from sealants in contaminated and uncontaminated apartments within the same housing estate.

Twenty-four congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in 83 air samples and 20 elastic sealants samples of apartments with PCB-containing sealants. In addition, PCBs were measured in 21 air samples from reference apartments located in an uncontaminated section of the same estate. The PCB(tot) levels in the air of the contaminated section were 168-3843 ng m(-3) (mean: 1030 ng m(-3)), while the mean levels in the reference apartments were 6.

Occurrence of organochlorine pesticides in indoor dust.

Organochlorine pesticides are present in the environment and suspected of causing serious health effects. Diet has been the main exposure source, but indoor source release is gaining focus. Within a monitoring study of polychlorinated biphenyls of Danish buildings built during the 1960s and 1970s, we coincidently determined extreme levels of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) levels in two of ten random samples.

Indoor particles affect vascular function in the aged: an air filtration-based intervention study.

Rationale: Exposure to particulate matter is associated with risk of cardiovascular events, possibly through endothelial dysfunction, and indoor air may be most important.

Objectives: We investigated effects of controlled exposure to indoor air particles on microvascular function (MVF) as the primary endpoint and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress as secondary endpoints in a healthy elderly population.

Methods: A total of 21 nonsmoking couples participated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study with two consecutive 48-hour exposures to either particle-filtered or nonfiltered air (2,533-4,058 and 7,718-12,988 particles/cm(3), respectively) in their homes.

Emission of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate from PVC flooring into air and uptake in dust: emission and sorption experiments in FLEC and CLIMPAQ.

The emission of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) from a PVC flooring was studied for up to 472 days in both the FLEC (Field and Laboratory Emission Cell) and the CLIMPAQ (Chamberfor Laboratory Investigations of Materials, Pollution, and Air Quality). The loading of the CLIMPAQs was varied but was constant in the FLECs. The sorption properties of FLEC and CLIMPAQ were investigated using different methods.