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School Environmental Exposures and Disease Exacerbations in Children With Asthma
EPA Grant Number: FP916376Title: School Environmental Exposures and Disease Exacerbations in Children With Asthma
Investigators: Sidman, Elanor A.
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Willett, Stephanie H.
Project Period: January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007
Project Amount: $108,451
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (2004)
Research Category: Fellowship - Public Health Sciences , Health Effects , Academic Fellowships
Description:
Objective:The objective of this research project is to investigate short-term health effects associated with school environmental exposures among pediatric asthmatics.
Approach:A cohort of Washington State elementary school children with physician-diagnosed asthma will be recruited via medical professionals and/or asthma-focused community organizations. The schools at which the participants are enrolled will be identified and, with the consent of participants’ families and school officials, a combination of select environmental measurements, observations made during walk-through assessments, and questionnaires will be used to characterize indoor air quality exposures in the school environment. Associations between these environmental exposures and asthma-related outcomes, including physiologic measures of lung function and airway inflammation, self-reported symptoms, and medication use, will be examined. If possible, information regarding the participants’ home environments will be collected and included in the analyses.
Conducted in a setting believed to have multiple indoor environmental exposures (schools) and with a study population particularly sensitive to pollutants (children) and at high risk for respiratory disease exacerbations (asthmatics), this research aims to provide further evidence regarding associations between indoor air pollutants and asthma exacerbations. The results should help inform decisions as to whether efforts to manage asthma by decreasing children’s exposure to environmental triggers should be directed at schools as well as at homes. Study findings also are intended to help identify which modifiable school characteristics would be most usefully incorporated into school-based trigger-reduction interventions and asthma prevention policies.
Supplemental Keywords:fellowship, asthma, children’s health, school environment, indoor air quality, indoor environmental exposure, lung function, asthma-related outcomes, airway inflammation, medication use, respiratory disease, indoor air pollutants, environmental epidemiology, respiratory disease exacerbations
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Air, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, Health, RFA, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Toxicology, indoor air, Risk Assessments, genetic susceptability, Northwest, Health Risk Assessment, Epidemiology, Children's Health, Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Allergens/Asthma, exposure assessment, allergen, health effects, indoor air quality, inhalation, air quality, ambient air, cardiopulmonary response, indoor environment, assessment of exposure, combustion, harmful environmental agents, human health risk, genetic susceptibility, particle exposure, epidemeology, air toxics, biostatistics, particulates, sensitive populations, biological response, ambient particle health effects, air pollution, airborne pollutants, airway disease, biological markers, children, particulate matter, exposure, children's vulnerablity, human susceptibility, asthma, health risks, human exposure, Human Health Risk Assessment
Relevant Websites:
2004 STAR Graduate Fellowship Conference Poster (PDF, 1p., 154KB, about PDF)