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Variability of house-dust-mite allergen levels within carpets.
Simpson A, Hassall R, Custovic A, Woodcock A
Allergy. 1998;53( 6):602-7.
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Abstract
Sensitization and exposure to house-dust-mite allergens is an important cause of asthma.Standardized, reliable, and reproducible methods for measuring exposureare essential for the assessment of the relationship between exposure,sensitization, and asthma. This study investigated the variability of thehouse-dust-mite allergen Der p 1 concentration in reservoir dust collectedwithin whole carpets in living rooms a nd bedrooms. The carpets of ninebedrooms and 11 living rooms were sampled. Each room was divided into 1 m2areas measured from wall to wall where the carpet was accessible.Reservoir dust samples were collected by vacuuming each 1 m2 area for 2min. Der p 1 was assayed by a two-site monoclonal-antibody-basedimmunometric ELISA. Der p 1 was detectable in the carpets of all ninebedrooms and six of the 11 living rooms. Within these 15 rooms, there wasa wide range of Der p 1 levels. The smallest range of allergen within asingle room was 0.9 microgram Der p 1/g dust (0.2 and 1.1 micrograms/g;5.5-fold difference), and the largest was 149.2 micrograms Der p 1/g dust(0.8 and 150 micrograms/g; 192-fold difference). The mean range ofallergen levels in the living rooms was 11.5 micrograms Der p 1/g of dust,and the mean coefficient of variation of these rooms was 80.2%,illustrating the huge variation of mite allergen levels within each room.The variation within bedrooms was also large, with a mean coefficient ofvariation value of 88.7%. The coefficient of variation was significantlylower around soft furnishings or beds (57%) than in the rest of the room(89.3%), with the mean difference being 32% (95% CI 2-63%; P = 0.04). Inconclusion, this study has shown that there is a great variation of Der p1 levels between areas within a room. No consistent pattern ofdistribution of mite allergen within a room was found. Der p 1 levels inareas around soft furnishings and beds varied less than the levels in therest of the room.
Keyword(s)
Animals; Dust; Floors and Floorcoverings; Housing; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; analysis: Allergens; immunology: Mites