Using household cleaning sprays and spray air fresheners just once a week can increase your risk of developing asthma, new research suggests.

Whether or not the cleaning products are a direct cause of asthma, or simply a trigger for people who already have the disease, isn't clear from this epidemiological study.

However, the European team involved in the study believes that spray cleaners can be a cause of new-onset asthma, because the people included in this study did not have asthma or asthma symptoms at the start of the study.

The use of spray cleaners as little as once a week increased the risk of developing the respiratory ailment by nearly 50 percent, the researchers found.

"Cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners, had a particularly strong effect. The risk of developing asthma increased with the frequency of cleaning and number of different sprays used, but on average was 30 to 50 percent higher in people regularly exposed to cleaning sprays than in others," said the study's lead author, Jan-Paul Zock, a research fellow at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology at the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, Spain.

Results of the study were expected to be published in the second October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The most important thing consumers need to know, cautioned Zock, is that "cleaning sprays -- for sale in all supermarkets -- are not harmless, and their use may involve serious health risks."

Previous research has found an association between asthma and being employed as a professional cleaner. Other studies have also noted a link between respiratory symptoms and certain cleaning products, but Zock and his colleagues wanted to learn if typical household exposures to cleaning products would have any effect on the development of asthma.

Drawing on a 10-country database, called the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, the researchers identified more than 3,500 people without any history of asthma or asthma symptoms. All reported being responsible for the cleaning of their homes.

After an average of close to nine years of follow-up, face-to-face interviews were conducted, and the study volunteers were asked about the types of cleaning products they used and how often they used them. They were also asked if they had been diagnosed by a physician as having asthma, or had been treated with asthma medications during the study period. The researchers also performed lung-function tests on the study volunteers.

Overall, 42 percent of the study volunteers reported using a spray cleaner at least once a week. Glass cleaning sprays were the most commonly used sprays, with about 22 percent reporting using them at least once a week.

Liquid multi-purpose cleaners were also frequently used -- just over 83 percent said they used such a product at least once a week. However, the researchers didn't find any association between asthma and properly used liquid cleaners.

Weekly use of a spray cleaner increased the risk of having current asthma by 45 percent in women and 76 percent in men. Among those who used the cleaning sprays at least four days a week, the risk of asthma was more than doubled.

Zock said it's too soon to tell people to swear off spray cleaners altogether, but added, "Nevertheless, from the perspective of precaution, we may recommend to use sprays only when really necessary. In most cases, it is possible to replace the spray by non-spray cleaning liquids and to do the cleaning properly. If [sprays are] used, people can protect themselves by opening windows, avoiding the application near the breathing zone, and by using masks or other types of personal respiratory protection."

"Cleaning compounds are generally just tested to make sure that they don't kill people or cause cancer," noted Dr. David Rosenstreich, director of the division of allergy and immunology in the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

"But, these products may not be safe for asthmatics to breathe in. And, if it's not safe for asthmatics, it's probably not safe for anyone else," he said. His advice: "Switch to liquid cleaning products rather than aerosols. If there's any difference in cleaning, it's a small sacrifice to be made in terms of protecting your respiratory health."

Zock did add one caveat, however. "Don't forget that old-fashioned liquid cleaning products can involve risks for respiratory disorders as well. The most notorious example is bleach, particularly when mixed with other cleaners -- something that should never be done."

喘風險
Using household cleaning sprays and spray air fresheners just once a week can increase your risk of developing asthma, new research suggests.

Whether or not the cleaning products are a direct cause of asthma, or simply a trigger for people who already have the disease, isn't clear from this epidemiological study.

However, the European team involved in the study believes that spray cleaners can be a cause of new-onset asthma, because the people included in this study did not have asthma or asthma symptoms at the start of the study.

The use of spray cleaners as little as once a week increased the risk of developing the respiratory ailment by nearly 50 percent, the researchers found.

"Cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners, had a particularly strong effect. The risk of developing asthma increased with the frequency of cleaning and number of different sprays used, but on average was 30 to 50 percent higher in people regularly exposed to cleaning sprays than in others," said the study's lead author, Jan-Paul Zock, a research fellow at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology at the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, Spain.

Results of the study were expected to be published in the second October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The most important thing consumers need to know, cautioned Zock, is that "cleaning sprays -- for sale in all supermarkets -- are not harmless, and their use may involve serious health risks."

Previous research has found an association between asthma and being employed as a professional cleaner. Other studies have also noted a link between respiratory symptoms and certain cleaning products, but Zock and his colleagues wanted to learn if typical household exposures to cleaning products would have any effect on the development of asthma.

Drawing on a 10-country database, called the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, the researchers identified more than 3,500 people without any history of asthma or asthma symptoms. All reported being responsible for the cleaning of their homes.

After an average of close to nine years of follow-up, face-to-face interviews were conducted, and the study volunteers were asked about the types of cleaning products they used and how often they used them. They were also asked if they had been diagnosed by a physician as having asthma, or had been treated with asthma medications during the study period. The researchers also performed lung-function tests on the study volunteers.

Overall, 42 percent of the study volunteers reported using a spray cleaner at least once a week. Glass cleaning sprays were the most commonly used sprays, with about 22 percent reporting using them at least once a week.

Liquid multi-purpose cleaners were also frequently used -- just over 83 percent said they used such a product at least once a week. However, the researchers didn't find any association between asthma and properly used liquid cleaners.

Weekly use of a spray cleaner increased the risk of having current asthma by 45 percent in women and 76 percent in men. Among those who used the cleaning sprays at least four days a week, the risk of asthma was more than doubled.

Zock said it's too soon to tell people to swear off spray cleaners altogether, but added, "Nevertheless, from the perspective of precaution, we may recommend to use sprays only when really necessary. In most cases, it is possible to replace the spray by non-spray cleaning liquids and to do the cleaning properly. If [sprays are] used, people can protect themselves by opening windows, avoiding the application near the breathing zone, and by using masks or other types of personal respiratory protection."

"Cleaning compounds are generally just tested to make sure that they don't kill people or cause cancer," noted Dr. David Rosenstreich, director of the division of allergy and immunology in the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

"But, these products may not be safe for asthmatics to breathe in. And, if it's not safe for asthmatics, it's probably not safe for anyone else," he said. His advice: "Switch to liquid cleaning products rather than aerosols. If there's any difference in cleaning, it's a small sacrifice to be made in terms of protecting your respiratory health."

Zock did add one caveat, however. "Don't forget that old-fashioned liquid cleaning products can involve risks for respiratory disorders as well. The most notorious example is bleach, particularly when mixed with other cleaners -- something that should never be done."
 新的研究表明，每周使用一次家居噴霧清潔劑或空氣清新劑能增加你患哮喘的風險。

但這次的流行病學研究并沒有清楚的表明，清潔產品是導致哮喘的直接原因還是僅僅只是哮喘患者的誘因。

然而參與這次研究的歐洲小組相信，噴霧清潔劑是導致哮喘發作的一個新病因，因為參與研究的實驗對象在研究開始時并沒有患哮喘或是有哮喘的癥狀。

研究發現，僅僅每周使用一次噴霧清潔劑，會導致患呼吸系統疾病的風險增加50%。

該研究的負責人—Jan-Paul Zock（他是西班牙巴塞羅那市政學院醫學研究中心環境流行病學研究所的研究員）認為：噴霧清潔劑，尤其是空氣清新劑，家居清潔劑和玻璃清潔劑誘導哮喘發生的作用極為明顯。（雖說）患哮喘的風險與使用噴霧清潔劑的頻率和不同清潔劑的種類有關，但一般而言，經常暴露在噴霧清潔劑的人患哮喘的風險要比其他人高 30%-50%。

本次研究的結果有望在十月分發行的第二期美國呼吸及危重病學雜志上發表。

 Zock告誡說：“消費者需要明白的最重要的事情是：在所有超市賣的噴霧清潔劑并不是無害的，它們將有可能導致對健康的危害。”

以前的研究已經發現哮喘與清潔工的聯系，另外一些研究也已經注意到呼吸道癥狀與特定的清潔產品之間的聯系，但是Zock和他的同伴們希望發現典型的家庭接觸清潔產品是否會對哮喘的發展產生影響。

在這次被稱作歐洲社會呼吸健康的調查中，共查閱了10個國家的數據庫，研究人員確定了有超過3500名沒有任何哮喘歷史或哮喘癥狀的人（作為實驗志愿者），（這次調查的）所有的報道都與他們打掃自己的家園有關。

在經過平均近9年的跟蹤調查之后，面對面的采訪開始進行，實驗志愿者們被詢問了有關他們使用清潔劑的種類和頻率，以及他們是否被醫生診斷患有哮喘或是在研究期間服用過治療哮喘的藥物等問題。研究人員還為這些志愿者們做了肺功能測試。

總的來說，有42%的志愿者至少每周使用一次噴霧清潔劑，玻璃清潔劑是最常使用的噴霧劑，大概有22%的志愿者說他們至少每周使用一次。

多用途的液體清潔劑也經常被使用，超過83%的志愿者說他們至少每周使用一次，然而研究人員沒有發現哮喘與液體清潔劑之間的任何聯系。

每周使用一次噴霧清潔劑可導致女性患哮喘的風險增加45%，男性增加76%。在那些每四天使用一次噴霧劑人當中，患哮喘的風險將增加一倍以上。

Zock 說，現在就告誡人們遠離噴霧清潔劑還為時尚早，但他補充說：“毫無疑問，從預防的角度來看，我們推薦僅僅在必要的時候才使用噴霧劑。在大多數情況下，最好用液體清潔劑取代噴霧清潔劑，并且正確的進行清潔工作。如果一旦使用了噴霧劑，可以通過開窗，不在呼吸區域使用，應用面罩或其他的個人呼吸道保護措施來保護自己。

“對清潔化合物的檢驗通常只是確保不會使人致死或致癌”David Rosenstreich博士說。他是紐約Montefiore Medical中心和愛因斯坦醫學院的免疫系主任。“對哮喘病人的呼吸而言，這些產品未必安全。并且，如果它們對哮喘患者不安全，那么也就意味著對其他人也不安全".他的建議:選用液體清潔劑而非噴霧清潔劑，如果兩者在清潔效果上有所差別，在保護你呼吸道健康的方面，液體清潔劑僅需要較小的犧牲。

Zock提出了另一個警告：“別忘了那些老式的液體清潔劑也可能導致患呼吸系統疾病的風險。最有名的例子是漂白劑——尤其是那些混有其他清潔劑的，那是絕對不能使用的。