Claim C-0014

In children, a single day-care cohort suggests that a rise in indoor toluene is followed two days later by more symptoms of atopic dermatitis; for benzene the same study found the association borderline and not statistically significant.

Structure

Factor: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Outcome: Atopic dermatitis symptoms
Population: children with atopic dermatitis
Relation: increases
Evidence grade: D · single-study
Caveat: one cohort in one newly built day-care centre; both estimates are adjusted for temperature, humidity, season, baseline SCORAD and age, and both confidence intervals reach below zero

Based on

Finding F-0006: “When the delayed effect of indoor air pollutants on AD symptoms 2 days later was evaluated, AD symptoms significantly increased by 12.7% (95% CI: -0.01 to 27.1) as indoor levels of toluene increased by 1 ppb (P = 0.05).” (CKB 0608, p. 6)

Counter-evidence

Finding F-0005: “An increased concentration of benzene by 1 ppb was associated with a 12.0% (95% CI: -0.9 to 26.6) increase in AD symptoms, although statistical significance was borderline (P = 0.07).” (CKB 0608, p. 6)

A Claim is Coridum’s synthesis of Findings and Observations; the evidence grade follows the study designs behind it.