Household cleaner use linked to asthma risk in children: study

Frequent exposure to common household cleaners and air fresheners in the first three months of life can lead to an increased risk for childhood asthma, say SFU researchers.
The study, published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that infants who spent 80 to 90 per cent of their time indoors in homes where multiple household cleaning products were often used were more likely to develop childhood wheeze and asthma by three years of age than the infants whose caregivers did not frequently use cleaning products.
The study’s lead researcher, Dr. Tim Takaro, a professor and clinician-scientist at SFU’s faculty of health sciences, said “high use” can mean using a few products frequently or using many products less frequently.
He said spray products, oven cleaners, deodorizers and other things that have fragrance are the worst offenders, including many products that claim to be “natural” or “eco-friendly.”
“So if you use those on a weekly basis, you are probably getting into the high category,” he said.
Researchers looked at data from 2,022 children, who participated in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study between 2008 and 2015. They examined their daily, weekly and monthly exposure to 26 types of household cleaners, including dishwashing and laundry detergents, cleaners, disinfectants, polishes, and air fresheners.
For example, they found infants with high exposure to common cleaning products were 10.8 per cent more likely to develop a recurrent wheeze, compared with 7.7 per cent of infants whose caregivers did not use cleaners frequently. They were also 7.9 per cent more likely to develop asthma, compared with 4.8 per cent of infants living in homes with low use of cleaners.
Takaro said new parents who are concerned about what products they are using around their babies should not use products with fragrance.
“The smell of a clean home should be no smell. It shouldn’t be lilacs or some artificial lemon smell.”
He also advised using products that don’t spray, use water to rinse off any areas that have been cleaned, and don’t clean near a baby or child.
“Or just use soap and water. It works, and so do natural products like vinegar and baking soda, which are much safer. We are asking parents to think about their cleaning and use less chemicals.”
They said factors known to affect the onset of asthma, such as family history and early exposure to tobacco smoke, pets, and mould, were accounted for in the analysis.
Researchers believe frequent use of cleaning products may lead to inflammation of the lining of the lungs.
“These are very delicate membranes that line our respiratory track and these chemicals inflame that lining. When they are inflamed, we are more susceptible to respiratory infections, to other chemicals, and also to allergens,” said Takaro.

Recurrent wheeze and asthma were notably higher in homes with frequent use of certain products, such as liquid or solid air fresheners, plug-in deodorizers, dusting sprays, antimicrobial hand sanitizers and oven cleaners.
“The automatic plug-in deodorizers are terrible. They contain chemicals that irritate the lungs,” said Takaro, adding that Canada doesn’t have strict laws about cleaning products, and often harmful chemicals are listed simply as “fragrance” or “stabilizer.”
He said they know many cleaning products contain “fragrances” that contain phthalates, which are known to make asthma worse.
The paper’s lead author, Jaclyn Parks, a graduate student in SFU’s faculty of health sciences, says it may be important for people to consider removing scented spray cleaning products from their cleaning routine.“The big takeaway from this study is that the first few months of life are critical for the development of a baby’s immune and respiratory systems,” said Parks, adding that by identifying hazardous exposure, parents can take preventative measures to reduce asthma risk.Launched in 2008 by the Canadian Institute for Health Research and AllerGen NCE, the CHILD Study is tracking nearly 3,500 Canadian infants and their families to help determine the root causes of chronic diseases such as asthma, allergies and obesity. Source
https://globalnews.ca/news/6565096/household-cleaner-asthma-study/
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