Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.

We assessed the accuracy of questionnaire reports of cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches in predicting measured allergen concentrations in house dust. We collected dust samples in the homes of 932 newborns living in New England. Dust samples were taken from the main living area and the...

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Main Authors:	Gehring, Ulrike, Triche, Elizabeth, van Strien, Robert T, Belanger, Kathleen, Holford, Theodore, Gold, Diane R, Jankun, Thomas, Ren, Ping, McSharry, Jean-ellen, Beckett, William S, Platts-Mills, Thomas A E, Chapman, Martin D, Bracken, Michael B, Leaderer, Brian P
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	2004
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242009/

id	pubmed-1242009
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-12420092005-11-08 Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information. Gehring, Ulrike Triche, Elizabeth van Strien, Robert T Belanger, Kathleen Holford, Theodore Gold, Diane R Jankun, Thomas Ren, Ping McSharry, Jean-ellen Beckett, William S Platts-Mills, Thomas A E Chapman, Martin D Bracken, Michael B Leaderer, Brian P Research Article We assessed the accuracy of questionnaire reports of cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches in predicting measured allergen concentrations in house dust. We collected dust samples in the homes of 932 newborns living in New England. Dust samples were taken from the main living area and the infant's bedding. Allergen content of house dust was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and related to questionnaire information on past and current cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches. Allergen levels were dichotomized using the limit of detection and the following cut points: 1.0 microg/g and 8.0 microg/g for cat, 2.0 microg/g and 10.0 microg/g for dog, and 2 U/g and 8 U/g for cockroach allergen. For the upper cut point, both specificity and sensitivity of questionnaire-reported cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches were high. For the limit of detection and lower cut point, specificity was high (> 80%), whereas sensitivity was low, particularly for current cat and dog ownership (21-60%). Taking pet ownership during the preceding 2 years into account increased the sensitivity by 10%, but it remained relatively poor. In conclusion, questionnaire-reported pet ownership and presence of cockroaches predicts allergen levels above the upper cut point but is a relatively poor measure of allergen exposure above the limit of detection and the lower cut point. Knowledge of past pet ownership can improve pet allergen exposure assessment by means of questionnaire. However, for epidemiologic purposes, measured concentrations of allergens are necessary. 2004-06 /pmc/articles/PMC1242009/ /pubmed/15175169 Text en
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Gehring, Ulrike Triche, Elizabeth van Strien, Robert T Belanger, Kathleen Holford, Theodore Gold, Diane R Jankun, Thomas Ren, Ping McSharry, Jean-ellen Beckett, William S Platts-Mills, Thomas A E Chapman, Martin D Bracken, Michael B Leaderer, Brian P
spellingShingle	Gehring, Ulrike Triche, Elizabeth van Strien, Robert T Belanger, Kathleen Holford, Theodore Gold, Diane R Jankun, Thomas Ren, Ping McSharry, Jean-ellen Beckett, William S Platts-Mills, Thomas A E Chapman, Martin D Bracken, Michael B Leaderer, Brian P Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
author_facet	Gehring, Ulrike Triche, Elizabeth van Strien, Robert T Belanger, Kathleen Holford, Theodore Gold, Diane R Jankun, Thomas Ren, Ping McSharry, Jean-ellen Beckett, William S Platts-Mills, Thomas A E Chapman, Martin D Bracken, Michael B Leaderer, Brian P
author_sort	Gehring, Ulrike
title	Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
title_short	Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
title_full	Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
title_fullStr	Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
title_full_unstemmed	Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
title_sort	prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.
description	We assessed the accuracy of questionnaire reports of cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches in predicting measured allergen concentrations in house dust. We collected dust samples in the homes of 932 newborns living in New England. Dust samples were taken from the main living area and the infant's bedding. Allergen content of house dust was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and related to questionnaire information on past and current cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches. Allergen levels were dichotomized using the limit of detection and the following cut points: 1.0 microg/g and 8.0 microg/g for cat, 2.0 microg/g and 10.0 microg/g for dog, and 2 U/g and 8 U/g for cockroach allergen. For the upper cut point, both specificity and sensitivity of questionnaire-reported cat and dog ownership and presence of cockroaches were high. For the limit of detection and lower cut point, specificity was high (> 80%), whereas sensitivity was low, particularly for current cat and dog ownership (21-60%). Taking pet ownership during the preceding 2 years into account increased the sensitivity by 10%, but it remained relatively poor. In conclusion, questionnaire-reported pet ownership and presence of cockroaches predicts allergen levels above the upper cut point but is a relatively poor measure of allergen exposure above the limit of detection and the lower cut point. Knowledge of past pet ownership can improve pet allergen exposure assessment by means of questionnaire. However, for epidemiologic purposes, measured concentrations of allergens are necessary.
publishDate	2004
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242009/
_version_	1611378107231502336

Prediction of residential pet and cockroach allergen levels using questionnaire information.

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