ASTHMA AND THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT

Introduction: Asthma affects about 235 million people around the world. Asthma has a spectrum of potential determinants ranging from genetics to lifestyle and environmental factors. In most countries people spend more than 80% of their time indoors. Indoor Environment is recognized as a major source of environmental exposure and is a possible target to improve asthma control. Objective: A review to identify a relation between indoor environment and exacerbation or development of asthma . Methodology: A search for articles published between December 2005 and December 2015, in Portuguese, Spanish and English was performed using Pubmed and MeSH terms asthma and indoor air pollution. Were also consulted guidelines from international societies. To rate the level of evidence (LE) and strength of recommendation SORT taxonomy was used (American Family Physician). Results: 61 articles were selected. Despite confliting results , studies have shown that there is a relation between asthma symptoms and biological indoor environmental factors (allergens of domestic dust mites, allergens of cockroaches, mouse allergens, allergens of cats and dogs, endotoxins and fungi) and non- biological factors( exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds). Some studies shown that indoor environmental control is beneficial in reducing asthma morbidity and development. Conclusions: There are conflicting results between the influence of indoor environment and exacerbation or development of asthma (SORT B). Despite the lack of studies certain measures to prevent, reduce or eliminate these triggers should be promoted by healthcare professionals.