RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN AND INDOOR EXPOSURE TO NITROGEN-DIOXIDE AND GAS STOVES

Nitrogen dioxide levels were measured in 80 homes in the Latrobe Valle y, Victoria, Australia, using passive samplers. Some 148 children betw een 7 and 14 yr of age were recruited as study participants, 53 of who m had asthma. Health outcomes for the children were studied using a re spiratory questionnaire, skin prick tests, and peak flow measurements. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations were low, with an indoor median of 11 .6 mu g/m(3) (6.0 ppb), and a maximum of 246 mu g/m(3) (128 ppb). Resp iratory symptoms were more common in children exposed to a gas stove ( odds ratio 2.3 [95% CI 1.0-5.2], adjusted for parental allergy, parent al asthma, and sex). Nitrogen dioxide exposure was a marginal risk fac tor for respiratory symptoms, with a dose-response association present (p = 0.09). Cas stove exposure was a significant risk factor for resp iratory symptoms even after adjusting for nitrogen dioxide levels (odd s ratio 2.2 [1.0-4.8]), suggesting an additional risk apart from the a verage nitrogen dioxide exposure associated with gas stove use. Atopic children tended to have a greater risk of respiratory symptoms compar ed with nonatopic children with exposure to gas stoves or nitrogen dio xide, but the difference was not significant.