Interior surface materials in the home and the development of bronchial obstruction in young children in Oslo, Norway

Objectives. This study assessed the role of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics and textile materials in the home in the development of bronchial obstruction during the first 2 years of life. Methods. The study was a matched pair case-control study based on a cohort of 3754 newborns in Oslo in 1992 and 1993 who were followed up for 2 years. The case group consisted of 251 children with bronchial obstruction; the control group was matched one-to-one for date of birth. Results. in conditional logistic regression analysis, the risk of bronchial obstruction was related to the presence of PVC flooring (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14, 3.14) and textile wall materials (adjusted OR = 1.58; 95% CI = 0.98, 2.54). The reference category was wood or parquet flooring and painted walls and ceiling. Further analysis sis revealed an exposure-response relationship between the assessed amount of PVC and other plasticizer-containing surface materials and the risk of bronchial obstruction. Conclusions. This study provides new evidence of the role of PVC and textile wall materials in the development of bronchial obstruction in young children.