Burr M L
Centre for Applied Public Health Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK.
Pediatr Pulmonol Suppl. 1999;18:3-5.
Children spend much of their time indoors, yet relatively little attention is paid to the effects of indoor air pollution owing to the difficulties of obtaining information about it. The most important single element is probably environmental tobacco smoke (passive smoking), which causes respiratory illness and impairment of lung function. Oxides of nitrogen, mostly derived from gas cookers, may cause symptoms in some children. House dust mites affect children with allergic asthma, but are very difficult to remove from the indoor environment. Indoor mould growth seems to be associated with ill-health, but it is not entirely clear whether this is attributable to exposure to the spores. Formaldehyde is emitted by some materials in buildings and furniture; it may affect children's respiratory health, but the information is rather sparse. VOCs are produced by a range of human activities; their significance for health is not known. More work is needed to ascertain the short-term and long-term effects of exposure to indoor air pollutants.
儿童大部分时间都待在室内，但由于获取相关信息存在困难，室内空气污染的影响相对较少受到关注。最重要的单一因素可能是环境烟草烟雾（被动吸烟），它会导致呼吸道疾病和肺功能受损。氮氧化物主要来自燃气灶具，可能会使一些儿童出现症状。屋尘螨会影响患有过敏性哮喘的儿童，但很难从室内环境中清除。室内霉菌生长似乎与健康不佳有关，但尚不完全清楚这是否归因于接触孢子。建筑物和家具中的某些材料会释放甲醛；它可能会影响儿童的呼吸健康，但相关信息相当稀少。挥发性有机化合物由一系列人类活动产生；它们对健康的影响尚不清楚。需要开展更多工作来确定接触室内空气污染物的短期和长期影响。
