Photo Credit: Helin Loik-Tomson

The following is a summary of “Household Use of Green Cleaning Products, Disinfecting Wipes, and Asthma Control Among Adults,” published in the April 2024 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Silva, et al.

Research on the impact of household disinfectants and cleaning products (HDCPs) on asthma control is limited, with little consideration for green products or wipes, which are increasingly popular for home cleaning. For a study, researchers sought to assess the associations between the use of HDCPs, including disinfecting wipes and green products, and asthma control using data from the French Web-based NutriNet-Santé cohort.

A standardized questionnaire was administered in 2018 to evaluate asthma control (categorized as never asthma, controlled asthma with Asthma Control Test ≥ 20, or uncontrolled asthma with Asthma Control Test < 20) and the use of HDCPs, including two types of products (irritants and green products) and two application modes (sprays and disinfecting wipes). Cross-sectional associations between the weekly frequency of HDCP use at home and asthma control were assessed using multinomial logistic regressions, adjusting for sex, age, smoking status, body mass index, and educational level.

The analysis included 37,043 adults (mean age 47 years; 75% women; 62% with weekly HDCP use). Strong associations were found between weekly HDCP use and uncontrolled asthma. Specifically, almost daily use (4–7 days/week) of irritants (odds ratio [OR] 2.81; 95% CI 1.97–4.00) and green products (OR 2.40; 95% CI 1.70–3.39), as well as sprays (OR 2.69; 95% CI 1.97–3.68) and disinfecting wipes (OR 3.51; 95% CI 2.31–5.33), was associated with uncontrolled asthma. Even when not co-used with irritants and sprays, disinfecting wipes and green products remained statistically significant.

Weekly use of HDCPs, including green products or wipes, was linked to uncontrolled asthma, suggesting that healthcare practitioners should consider these factors to improve asthma control.

Reference: jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(23)01392-2/abstract