Hidden Hazards at Home: Indoor Air Pollution and Adolescent Asthma—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

IF 2.7 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

Indoor air Pub Date : 2026-09-29 DOI:10.1155/ina/7971301

Wenwen Shi, Supapon Kaewsanmung, Wuttipat Kiratipaisarl, Ratana Sapbamrer

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Adolescence represents a critical developmental window characterized by heightened vulnerability to environmental exposures yet has received less focused attention than early childhood in air pollution research. Existing epidemiological evidence remains inconclusive because of variations in exposure assessment, study design, and asthma definitions across studies.

Methods

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between indoor air pollutants and asthma among adolescents. A comprehensive literature search of Scopus, PubMed, and Embase was undertaken using controlled vocabulary and free-text search terms. Observational studies reporting adjusted effect estimates with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), including odds ratios (ORs), hazard ratios (HRs), relative risks (RRs), prevalence ratios (PRs), incidence rate ratios (IRRs), or prevalence odds ratios (PORs), were eligible for inclusion. Pooled estimates were generated using inverse-variance weighting under fixed or random effects models according to the degree of between-study heterogeneity, which was evaluated using Cochran′s Q test and the I² statistic.

Results

Of the 80 eligible studies identified, 77 were included in the meta-analysis of 11 indoor air pollutants. Strong associations, albeit with predominantly low or very low certainty of evidence on GRADE assessment, were observed for dust mite (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.41–2.65; I² = 23.7%; moderate certainty), pollen (OR 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30–2.11), mold/dampness (OR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03–1.24), and pets (OR 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01–1.16). Cooking/heating system showed borderline significance (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.00–1.17; very low certainty), with open fire sources associated with increased risk (OR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07–1.44). No significant associations were found for climate control appliances, cockroaches, home textiles, other animals, indoor plants, or volatile organic compounds.

Conclusion

Adolescent asthma is strongly associated with indoor biological pollutants, especially dust mites, mold/dampness, and pollen. However, the evidence assessed by GRADE was predominantly low or very low for most associations, so these findings should be interpreted with caution. To unravel the complexity of the association, future research should integrate multipollutant exposure, omics-based biomarkers, and exposome frameworks to clarify mechanisms. Policy-oriented studies are needed to quantify risks and guide adolescent asthma prevention strategies.

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家庭隐患：室内空气污染与青少年哮喘——系统综述与meta分析

青春期是一个关键的发育窗口期，其特点是对环境暴露的脆弱性增加，但在空气污染研究中受到的关注不如幼儿期。由于暴露评估、研究设计和不同研究的哮喘定义存在差异，现有的流行病学证据仍不确定。方法通过系统回顾和荟萃分析来评估室内空气污染物与青少年哮喘之间的关系。使用受控词汇和自由文本搜索词对Scopus、PubMed和Embase进行了全面的文献搜索。有相应95%置信区间（CIs），包括比值比（ORs）、危险比（hr）、相对危险度（rr）、患病率比（pr）、发病率比（IRRs）或患病率比值比（PORs）的观察性研究均符合纳入条件。根据研究间异质性的程度，在固定效应或随机效应模型下，采用逆方差加权法产生汇总估计，并采用Cochran’s Q检验和I2统计量进行评估。结果在确定的80项符合条件的研究中，77项纳入了11种室内空气污染物的荟萃分析。尽管GRADE评估证据的确定性主要较低或极低，但在尘螨（or 2.03, 95% CI: 1.41-2.65; I2 = 23.7%；中等确定性）、花粉（or 1.70, 95% CI: 1.30-2.11）、霉菌/湿气（or 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03-1.24）和宠物（or 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01-1.16）中观察到很强的相关性。烹饪/加热系统显示临界显著性（OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.00-1.17；非常低的确定性），明火源与风险增加相关（OR 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07-1.44）。没有发现气候控制电器、蟑螂、家用纺织品、其他动物、室内植物或挥发性有机化合物的显著关联。结论青少年哮喘与室内生物污染物密切相关，尤其是尘螨、霉菌/湿气和花粉。然而，GRADE评估的证据主要是低或非常低的，因此这些发现应该谨慎解释。为了揭示这种关联的复杂性，未来的研究应该整合多污染物暴露、基于组学的生物标志物和暴露框架来阐明机制。需要政策导向的研究来量化风险并指导青少年哮喘预防策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Indoor air 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

10.80

自引率

10.30%

发文量

175

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： The quality of the environment within buildings is a topic of major importance for public health. Indoor Air provides a location for reporting original research results in the broad area defined by the indoor environment of non-industrial buildings. An international journal with multidisciplinary content, Indoor Air publishes papers reflecting the broad categories of interest in this field: health effects; thermal comfort; monitoring and modelling; source characterization; ventilation and other environmental control techniques. The research results present the basic information to allow designers, building owners, and operators to provide a healthy and comfortable environment for building occupants, as well as giving medical practitioners information on how to deal with illnesses related to the indoor environment.