Exposure to Indoor Allergens in Day Care Facilities

In 2002, NIEHS investigators conducted a survey of 89 day care facilities in two North Carolina counties. That survey measured levels of seven allergens and investigated the relationships between those allergens and characteristics of the day care facilities. Both child care centers and child care homes were included in the survey.

The purpose of the study was to:

• estimate the prevalence of allergen exposures in day care facilities
• identify modifiable predictors of allergen levels in the facilities
• determine whether further study of day care facilities on a regional or national basis is warranted

In this survey of day care facilities, detectable levels of Alternaria, cockroach, dog, dust mite, cat, and mouse allergens were commonly found. For many young children and day care staff, day cares may be a source of clinically relevant exposures to several indoor allergens. Further studies of day care facilities need to be conducted in order to characterize allergen exposures in other regions of the country, to identify modifiable predictors of allergen levels, and to examine relationships between allergen exposures in day care facilities and health outcomes in children and day care workers.

See Related Publications(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/lrb/enviro-cardio/publications.cfm) for further information about this study.