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Table 6 Relationships between elevated exposure to VOCs and asthma and early airway obstruction in the farmers

From: Indoor exposure to particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in dwellings and workplaces and respiratory health in French farmers

VOCs

Asthma

Early Airways Obstruction

Crude OR (95% CI)

Adjusted OR (95% CI)

Crude OR (95% CI)**

Adjusted OR (95% CI)**

Acetaldehyde

0.34

0.04–2.71

–

–

1.59

0.37–6.83

2.68

0.33–22.00

Acrolein

0.37

0.05–3.04

0.14

0.03–0.75

1.48

0.23–9.47

1.99

0.19–21.11

Formaldehyde

0.31

0.04–2.51

0.31

0.04–2.51

2.48

0.49–12.65

1.88

0.28–12.50

Benzene

2.45

0.67–8.96

4.11

0.91–18.5

2.08

0.41–10.60

1.37

0.19–9.72

1,4-Dichlorobenzene

3.00

0.91–9.93

5.62

0.83–37.91

0.68

0.12–3.86

0.98

0.15–6.45

Etylbenzene

0.75

0.15–3.72

0.40

0.08–1.90

0.85

0.15–4.95

1.01

0.14–7.19

n-Decane

1.06

0.27–4.17

1.03

0.25–4.17

0.63

0.11–3.58

1.87

0.18–19.40

n-Undecane

1.28

0.35–4.65

2.43

0.56–10.19

0.28

0.03–2.58

0.41

0.02–9.10

Styrene

0.33

0.041–2.69

–

–

3.56

0.81–15.66

8.86

0.65–119.99

Tetrachloroethylene

1.56

0.42–5.89

1.40

0.38–5.08

1.49

0.30–7.33

7.78

0.59–102.53

Toluene

0.57

0.12–2.86

0.37

0.07–1.97

1.40

0.29–6.85

2.43

0.42–14.14

Trichloroethylene

1.60

0.35–7.46

3.20

0.59–17.21

–

–

–

–

1, 2,4-Trimethylbenzene

0.34

0.04–2.78

0.41

0.09–1.91

0.82

0.14–4.81

1.08

0.09–12.36

m/p-Xylene

0.75

0.15–3.72

0.36

0.08–1.72

0.85

0.15–4.95

1.01

0.14–7.19

o-Xylene

0.75

0.15–3.72

–

–

0.85

0.15–4.95

1.01

0.14–7.19

2-Butoxyethanol

1.27

0.33–4.81

0.75

0.19–2.92

3.62

0.81–16.12

6.48

0.59–71.33

2-Butoxyetylacetate

0.53

0.11–2.48

0.26

0.06–1.26

10.2

2.14–48.84

11.49

1.55–85.37

1-Metoxy-2-Propanol

0.28

0.03–2.45

0.44

0.05–4.28

0.76

0.17–3.45

1.44

0.22–9.41

1-Metoxy-2-propylacetate

0.26

0.03–2.20

0.28

0.03–2.92

1.50

0.35–6.46

2.17

0.41–11.47

Halogenated hydrocarbons score

1.63

0.83–3.2

2.02

1.00–4.10

0.68

0.29–1.63

0.92

0.38–2.25

Glycolether score

0.69

0.39–1.22

0.60

0.33–1.12

1.58

0.94–2.66

1.86

0.93–3.69

Aromatic hydrocarbons

0.92

0.65–1.30

0.86

0.63–1.18

1.07

0.79–1.46

1.15

0.82–1.62

Aliphatic hydrocarbons

1.09

0.55–2.16

1.31

0.64–2.69

0.63

0.23–1.70

0.95

0.25–3.56

Aldehydes

0.45

0.11–1.37

0.23

0.06–0.78

1.63

0.73–3.68

1.69

0.59–4.80

  1. Early Airways Obstruction: (FEF25–75 < 80% of the predicted level and FEV / FVC > 70%, after bronchodilation during the reversibility test),
  2. OR: odds ratios between mean concentration in the farm (living room, stable, granary) and health outcomes; (95% CI): 95% confidence interval; Adjusted OR (ORa): odds ratio adjusted for gender, age, smoking habit, relative humidity, presence of pets and presence of mold;
  3. Bold values in bold denote statistically significant estimates of OR (p < 0.05)