A twin study of perfume-related respiratory symptoms

Fate and transport of fragrance materials in principal environmental sinks

Fragrance materials are widely present in the environment, such as air, water, and soil. Concerns have been raised due to the increasing utilization and suspected impact on human health. The bioaccumulating property is considered as one of the causes of the toxicity to human beings. The removal of fragrance materials from environmental sinks has not been paid enough attention due to the lack of regulation and research on their toxicity. This paper provides systematic information on how fragrance materials are transferred to the environment, how do they affect human lives, and what is their fate in water, wastewater, wastewater sludge, and soil.

Evaluation of the quick environmental exposure and sensitivity inventory in a Danish population

Objectives. To evaluate a Danish translation of the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI). Methods. The study included two groups: one comprised a random sample of 2000 individuals drawn from the Danish Civil Registration System; the other comprised 315 patients with chemical intolerance. Results. The evaluation suggested good reliability for the four QEESI scales in terms of internal consistency and coefficients between test and retest scores. The discriminatory validity was the largest for the Chemical (inhalant) Intolerance and Life Impact Scales. Using combined cut-off scores for these two scales provided a sensitivity of 92.1 and a specificity of 91.8 and yielded a prevalence of 8.2% in the population group. Conclusions. The Danish translation of the QEESI showed overall good reliability and validity. We recommend the use of the combined Chemical (inhalant) Intolerance and Life Impact Scales in future studies.

Non-allergic cutaneous reactions in airborne chemical sensitivity--a population based study

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is characterised by adverse effects due to exposure to low levels of chemical substances. The aetiology is unknown, but chemical related respiratory symptoms have been found associated with positive patch test. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cutaneous reactions from patch testing and self-reported severity of chemical sensitivity to common airborne chemicals. A total of 3460 individuals participating in a general health examination, Health 2006, were patch tested with allergens from the European standard series and screened for chemical sensitivity with a standardised questionnaire dividing the participants into four severity groups of chemical sensitivity. Both allergic and non-allergic cutaneous reactions--defined as irritative, follicular, or doubtful allergic reactions--were analysed in relationship with severity of chemical sensitivity. Associations were controlled for the possible confounding effects of sex, age, asthma, eczema, atopic dermatitis, psychological and social factors, and smoking habits. In unadjusted analyses we found associations between allergic and non-allergic cutaneous reactions on patch testing and the two most severe groups of self-reported sensitivity to airborne chemicals. When adjusting for confounding, associations were weakened, and only non-allergic cutaneous reactions were significantly associated with individuals most severely affected by inhalation of airborne chemicals (odds ratio = 2.5, p = 0.006). Our results suggest that individuals with self-reported chemical sensitivity show increased non-allergic cutaneous reactions based on day 2 readings of patch tests.