Effect of air purifier on indoor air quality and atopic dermatitis

Hyun Chul Park; Young Hoon Kim; Jeong Eun Kim; Joo Yeon Ko; Sun Ju Nam Goung; Cheol Min Lee; Yoon Shin Kim; Young Suck Ro

doi:10.4168/aard.2013.1.3.248

Journal List > Allergy Asthma Respir Dis > v.1(3) > 1058966

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Park, Kim, Kim, Ko, Nam Goung, Lee, Kim, and Ro: Effect of air purifier on indoor air quality and atopic dermatitis

Original Article

Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease 2013; 1(3): 248-256.

Published online: 30 September 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2013.1.3.248

Effect of air purifier on indoor air quality and atopic dermatitis

Hyun Chul Park¹, Young Hoon Kim¹, Jeong Eun Kim¹, Joo Yeon Ko¹, Sun Ju Nam Goung², Cheol Min Lee², Yoon Shin Kim², Young Suck Ro¹

¹Department of Dermatology, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

²The Institute for Environmental and Industrial Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence to: Young Suck Ro. Department of Dermatology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2290-8441, Fax: +82-2-2291-9619, romio@hanyang.ac.kr

Received 18 March 2013 Revised 22 May 2013 Accepted 27 May 2013

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).

Abstract

Purpose

High level of indoor air pollutant may cause aggravation of atopic diseases long with various allergic respiratory diseases especially in people who spend mostly of their lives indoors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of air purifier on the reduction of relevant hazards in indoors and the improvement of atopic dermatitis (AD).

Methods

A total of 24 families, consisted of 18 AD families and 6 normal control families, were enrolled in this study. We examined air quality and AD severity before the installation of air purifiers and after twenty-four weeeks. The assessment of air quality included fine particles (particulate matter, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀), gaseous contaminants (CO, CO₂, volatile organic compounds [VOCs], formaldehyde, NO₂) and density of offloating microorganisms. Severity of AD was assessed by SCORing atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index and transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

Results

At the end of study, particular air pollutants and VOCs of gaseous air pollutants decreased in both groups (P<0.01). In AD group, SCORAD index decreased from 23.45±4.34 to 15.42±6.53 (-18.5%) and TEWL decreased from 33.78±5.16 to 26.89±5.66 (-18.7%) (P<0.01 and P<0.01, respectively). However, the value of total immunoglobulin E and eosinophil did not show significant changes in both groups compared with baseline.

Conclusion

These results suggested that air purifier may improve severity of AD by reducing air pollutants like fine particles and VOCs. Our preliminary study could provide a basis for using air purifier to prevent aggravation of AD.

Keywords: Air purifier, Atopic dermatitis, Indoor air quality

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Air purifier (AP-1008BH) and filter system.

Fig. 2

Compared to the value of baseline, both PM₁₀ (A) and PM_2.5 (B) decreased after 24 weeks with statistical significance. AD, atopic dermatitis; PM, particulate matter. ^*P<0.01.

Fig. 3

Gaseous contaminant level. (A) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) level decreased significantly after using air purifier for 24 weeks. However, CO (B) and CO₂ (C) show incoherent levels. AD, atopic dermatitis. ^*P≤0.01.

Fig. 4

Density of offloating bacteria (A) and fungus (B) decreased in both groups compared to baseline, but showed no statistical significance. CFU, colony forming unit; AD, atopic dermatitis.

Fig. 5

Both SCORAD (A) and TEWL (B) showed statistically significant decrease in atopic dermatitis patients group after 24 weeks. SCORAD, SCORing of atopic dermatitis; TEWL, transepidermal water loss. ^*P<0.01.

Fig. 6

Mean value of total immunoglobulin (Ig) E (A) and eosinophil (B) after 24 weeks did not show statistically significant changes in both groups compared to baseline. AD, atopic dermatitis.

Table 1

Demographic information of atopic dermatitis (AD) group and control group

SD, standard deviation.

Table 2

Mean values of particular, gaseous and microbial pollutants in indoor air before and after using air purifier for 24 weeks

AD, atopic dermatitis; PM, particulate matter; VOCs, volatile organic compounds; CFU, colony forming unit.

Table 3

Clinical assessment values and results of blood test before and after using air purifier for 24 weeks

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation

AD, atopic dermatitis; SCORAD, SCORing of atopic dermatitis; NC, not checked; TEWL, transepidermal water loss; IgE, immunoglobulin E.

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