Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27018
Appears in Collections:Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: A systematic review
Author(s): Nurmatov, Ulugbek B.
Tagiyeva, Nara
Semple, Sean
Devereux, Graham
Sheikh, Aziz
Issue Date: 1-Mar-2015
Date Deposited: 11-Apr-2018
Citation: Nurmatov UB, Tagiyeva N, Semple S, Devereux G & Sheikh A (2015) Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: A systematic review. European Respiratory Review, 24 (135), pp. 92-101. https://doi.org/10.1183/09059180.00000714
Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous domestic pollutants. Their role in asthma/allergy development and exacerbations is uncertain. This systematic review investigated whether domestic VOC exposure increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergic disorders.  We systematically searched 11 databases and three trial repositories, and contacted an international panel of experts to identify published and unpublished experimental and epidemiological studies.  8455 potentially relevant studies were identified; 852 papers were removed after de-duplication, leaving 7603 unique papers that were screened. Of these, 278 were reviewed in detail and 53 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Critical appraisal of the included studies indicated an overall lack of high-quality evidence and substantial risk of bias in this body of knowledge. Aromatics (i.e. benzenes, toluenes and xylenes) and formaldehyde were the main VOC classes studied, both in relation to the development and exacerbations of asthma and allergy. Approximately equal numbers of studies reported that exposure increased risks and that exposure was not associated with any detrimental effects.  The available evidence implicating domestic VOC exposure in the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergy is of poor quality and inconsistent. Prospective, preferably experimental studies, investigating the impact of reducing/eliminating exposure to VOC, are now needed in order to generate a more definitive evidence base to inform policy and clinical deliberations in relation to the management of the now substantial sections of the population who are either at risk of developing asthma/ allergy or living with established disease. ©ERS 2015.
DOI Link: 10.1183/09059180.00000714
Rights: Copyright ©ERS 2015. ERR articles are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Nurmatov et al.pdfFulltext - Published Version352.89 kBAdobe PDFView/Open



This item is protected by original copyright



A file in this item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons

Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.