June 2011
Caitriona O'Donovan RGN H.Dip Occ.Health&Hygiene, Tim Yeomans PhD and Bruce Mitchell MD
airmid healthgroup ltd, Trinity Technology and Enterprise Centre, Dublin, Ireland

The link between adequate ventilation and building occupant health has long been recognized, our forebearers 'aired' their buildings. A generation or more ago, central heating and double glazing altered the natural habitat in our homes and played a part in today's asthma pandemic. In this energy conscious world, 'sustainable' and 'green' concepts are leading us to tightly seal our homes and workplaces, we are creating even more inhospitable indoor environments.

By Andrea Richardson

The drive for sustainability and energy efficient buildings must not be at the expense of healthy indoor air, particularly for those with asthma and allergies. We spend over 90% of our time indoors, according to the Health Canada website, so the quality of our indoor air should be a concern to all of us. A lack of ventilation, especially in air-tight buildings, is a key factor that impacts the quality of indoor air. Health Canada first issued risk assessment and management guidelines on indoor air pollutants in 1987 in the Exposure Guidelines for Residential Indoor Air Quality (1987).

By Máire Fox MSc

In a March 2011 article of Home Textile Today, Editor in Chief Jennifer Marks highlighted the confusion over ‘thread count inflation’ and its lack of meaning. Jennifer expects to see thread count identification drop into obscurity on packaging.

asthma and allergies: the renewed importance of clearing the air on some basic facts and figures

By Niamh McKeon, BA (Mod) Science

Americans spend an estimated $10 billion a year on non-medicinal, consumer products marketed for people with asthma and allergies. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently released a report on Health Statistics for those with asthma; it makes for quite stark reading. This article reviews some key facts and figures on both of the conditions.

By Tim Yeomans PhD

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently released a report on Health Statistics for those with asthma; it makes for quite stark reading. The CDC compiled this report Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use and Mortality: United States, 2005-2009 (pdf) based on data from the National Health Interview Survey. The most rapid growth in asthma in the US occurred from 1980 to 1996 with an increase from 3.5% to 5.5% of the population having asthma, that figure is now at 8.2%. This translates as 24.6 million Americans having asthma.