14 DAY TRIAL // Until now, a large number of studies investigating the link between some materials used for furnishing indoor environments and asthma have been mainly based on children subjects. But a recent study carried out by researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland found that certain materials used for indoor furnishing and decorating may also increase asthma risk in adults. Writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the team of scientists involved in the study warned that textile and plastic materials may irritate adults' airways and, therefore, make them more prone to developing asthma condition.
However, an interesting finding of the study was that plastic and textile materials used for furnishing only certain indoor environments may trigger asthma in adults. The Finnish researchers found that such materials may affect one's respiratory airways only if used for furnishing at the individual's workplace. On the other hand, the same type of indoor-used materials does not influence an adult's chances of developing asthma if used at home.
The study was conducted on 521 adults who have been recently diagnosed with asthma when the study began and 932 adults with no respiratory or allergic disorder. The follow-up study lasted for 2.5 years and overall results showed that individuals working in places with plastic wall coverings were 2.43% more likely to develop asthma symptoms, while those with wall-to-wall carpeting at the job had a 1.73-fold chance of becoming patients of the same allergic condition.
Leader of the study, Dr. Jouni J. K. Jaakkola of the University of Helsinki, and colleagues concluded in their report: "These findings underline the need to consider the health aspects of materials used in floor, wall, and other indoor surfaces. Our study provides new evidence that both plastic and textile surface materials in workplace indoor environments may play a role in the causation of asthma in adulthood."