Relationships between molds and asthma suggesting non-allergic mechanisms. A rural-urban comparison.

Background: A fungal index, based on specific microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) emission, was employed and related to asthma in children from rural and urban dwellings after stratification on the children atopic status.

Methods: A nested case-control design was used to draw, from 2 cross-sectional surveys, 20 asthmatics and 26 controls living in urban areas, and 24 asthmatics and 25 controls in rural areas. MVOCs levels were assessed in the living-room during one week; during that week, children performed clinical tests and their parents were invited to fill in a questionnaire on respiratory health.

Air pollution and increased levels of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in children with no history of airway damage.

Air pollution is associated with a wide range of adverse respiratory events. In order to study the mechanism associated with these effects, the relationships between fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), a potential marker of airway inflammation, and exposure to air pollution were examined in schoolchildren. FeNO was measured in 104 children (34 asthmatics and 70 non-asthmatics) drawn from the general population simultaneously with air pollution assessments (fine particles with an aerodiameter under 2.