Concentrations of Dust Mite in The Dust of Childhood Bedclothing, Cloth Wrappers, and Sewing Dolls

Choi, Jung Yoon; Sohn, Myung Hyun; Jang, Gwang Cheon; Lee, Kyung Eun; Kim, Kyu Earn

Abstract

PURPOSE: House dust mites play a major role both in sensitization and trigger the asthma symptoms in children. More than 70% of the Korean children and about 50% of adult with respiratory allergy were sensitive to house dust mite. The aim of this study was to examine if the concentration of house dust mites in the dust of children's bedroom is related to the known level of sensitization.
METHODS
From July 2000 to January 2001, children who were admitted at Yonsei University Hospital were studied. Dust samples were collected from the bedclothing, cloth wrappers, and sewing dolls of children by a vacuum cleaner. The levels of Der f I and Der p I were determined by ELISA.
RESULTS
The concentrations of Der f I were significantly higher in the bedclothing, cloth wrappers, and sewing dolls of children than the levels of Der p I.(p<0.01) The Der f I levels per gram of dust from the bedclothes, cloth wrappers, and sewing dolls were 3.24+/-0.50 microgram, 1.04+/-0.32 microgram, 3.43+/-0.30 microgram, respectively.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that the bedclothes and sewing dolls have enough concentrations of dust mites to develop the sensitization. The control of indoor environment should be emphasized to prevent the sensitization by the repeated exposure to dust mite.