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Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: a systematic review

Ulugbek B. Nurmatov, Nara Tagiyeva, Sean Semple, Graham Devereux, Aziz Sheikh
European Respiratory Review 2015 24: 92-101; DOI: 10.1183/09059180.00000714
Ulugbek B. Nurmatov
1Allergy and Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, UK
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  • For correspondence: Ulugbek.Nurmatov@ed.ac.uk
Nara Tagiyeva
2Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Sean Semple
2Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Graham Devereux
2Division of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Aziz Sheikh
1Allergy and Respiratory Research Group, Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, UK
3Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
4Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous domestic pollutants. Their role in asthma/allergy development and exacerbations is uncertain. This systematic review investigated whether domestic VOC exposure increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergic disorders.

We systematically searched 11 databases and three trial repositories, and contacted an international panel of experts to identify published and unpublished experimental and epidemiological studies.

8455 potentially relevant studies were identified; 852 papers were removed after de-duplication, leaving 7603 unique papers that were screened. Of these, 278 were reviewed in detail and 53 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Critical appraisal of the included studies indicated an overall lack of high-quality evidence and substantial risk of bias in this body of knowledge. Aromatics (i.e. benzenes, toluenes and xylenes) and formaldehyde were the main VOC classes studied, both in relation to the development and exacerbations of asthma and allergy. Approximately equal numbers of studies reported that exposure increased risks and that exposure was not associated with any detrimental effects.

The available evidence implicating domestic VOC exposure in the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergy is of poor quality and inconsistent. Prospective, preferably experimental studies, investigating the impact of reducing/eliminating exposure to VOC, are now needed in order to generate a more definitive evidence base to inform policy and clinical deliberations in relation to the management of the now substantial sections of the population who are either at risk of developing asthma/allergy or living with established disease.

Abstract

Investigation of VOCs in relation to developing or exacerbating asthma or allergy indicates new studies are required http://ow.ly/wEJ19

Footnotes

  • This article has supplementary material available from err.ersjournals.com

  • Support statement: This work was funded in its entirety by a project grant awarded by the Chief Scientist's Office of the Scottish Government Health Dept (CZG/2/573). The funding source had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, in preparation of the manuscript, or the decision to submit it for publication.

  • Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside the online version of this article at err.ersjournals.com

  • Provenance: Submitted article, peer reviewed.

  • Received January 21, 2014.
  • Accepted April 27, 2014.
  • Copyright ©ERS 2015.

ERR articles are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence 4.0.

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Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: a systematic review
Ulugbek B. Nurmatov, Nara Tagiyeva, Sean Semple, Graham Devereux, Aziz Sheikh
European Respiratory Review Mar 2015, 24 (135) 92-101; DOI: 10.1183/09059180.00000714

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Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: a systematic review
Ulugbek B. Nurmatov, Nara Tagiyeva, Sean Semple, Graham Devereux, Aziz Sheikh
European Respiratory Review Mar 2015, 24 (135) 92-101; DOI: 10.1183/09059180.00000714
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