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Barrett T. Kitch,¹ Ginger Chew,² Harriet A. Burge,² Michael L. Muilenberg,² Scott T. Weiss,^1,3 Thomas A.E. Platts-Mills,⁴ George O'Connor,⁵ and Diane R. Gold^1,3,6

¹Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
²Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
³Pulmonary Division, Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
⁴Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
⁵The Pulmonary Center, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
⁶Edward and Amalie Kass Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Abstract

In the United States, childhood asthma morbidity and prevalence rates are the highest in less affluent urban minority communities. More than 80% of childhood asthmatics are allergic to one or more inhalant allergens. We evaluated whether socioeconomic status was associated with a differential in the levels and types of indoor home allergens. Dust samples for an ELISA allergen assay were collected from the homes of 499 families as part of a metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, longitudinal birth cohort study of home allergens and asthma in children with a parental history of asthma or allergy. The proportion of homes with maximum home allergen levels in the highest category was 42% for dust mite allergen ( 10 µg/g Der p 1 or Der f 1) , 13% for cockroach allergen ( 2 U/g Bla g 1 or Bla g 2) , 26% for cat allergen ( 8 µg/g Fel d 1) , and 20% for dog allergen ( 10 µg/g Can f 1) . Homes in the high-poverty area (> 20% of the population below the poverty level) were more likely to have high cockroach allergen levels than homes in the low-poverty area [51 vs. 3% ; OR, 33 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) , 12-90], but less likely to have high levels of dust mite allergen (16 vs. 53% ; OR, 0.2 ; CI, 0.1-0.4) . Lower family income, less maternal education, and race/ethnicity (black or Hispanic vs. white) were also associated with a lower risk of high dust mite levels and a greater risk of high cockroach allergen levels. Within a single U.S. metropolitan area we found marked between-community differences in the types of allergens present in the home, but not necessarily in the overall burden of allergen exposure. Key words: asthma, cat, cockroach, dog, dust mite, indoor allergens, inner city. Environ Health Perspect 108:301-307 (2000) . [Online 18 February 2000]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108p301-307kitch/ abstract.html

Address correspondence to B. Kitch, Channing Laboratory, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 USA. Telephone: (617) 525-2738. Fax: (617) 525-0968. E-mail: barry.kitch@channing. harvard.edu

We thank M. Barr, J. Maldonis, D. Sredl, and K. McGaffigan for technical support and V. Carey for assistance in statistical analysis.

Supported by National Institutes of Health grants RO1 AI/EHS-35789 and HL07427.

Received 10 December 1998, accepted 21 October 1999.