SynthesisEuropean respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society2015
Volatile organic compounds and risk of asthma and allergy: a systematic review.
Synthesis in European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 188 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pulmonary Health Effects of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds-A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Exposure to formaldehyde and asthma outcomes: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and economic assessment.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Short-term effects and attributable burden of ambient volatile organic compound mixtures on pediatric atopic dermatitis and asthma in Seoul.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Removal of Ethanol from Indoor Air byPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Association between volatile organic compound concentrations in daycares and child wheeze: the French CRESPI study.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2026Article
- Association Between Volatile Organic Compound Metabolites in Urine and Adult Lung Function: Evidence From NHANES 2011-2012.The clinical respiratory journal · 2026Article
- The gut microbiota shapes the human and murine breath volatilome.Cell metabolism · 2026Article
- The Impact of Environmental Pollution and Climate Change on Allergic Rhinitis and Lung Diseases.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2026Review
- Toxicological Response of the BEAS-2B Cell After Acute Exposure at the Air-Liquid Interface to Ethylbenzene and m-Xylene Alone and in Binary Mixtures.Journal of applied toxicology : JAT · 2025Article
- Quantifying the Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Volatile Chemical Products (VCPs) in the Greater Houston Area.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Health effects of low-dose formaldehyde exposure: a cross-sectional study in occupational settings.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2025Article
- Mapping the Level of Evidence of Prenatal, Childhood, and Adolescent Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds and Health Outcomes: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- A critical review of wastewater-based epidemiology as a tool to evaluate the unintentional human exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2025Review
- Article
- Indoor air pollution and airway health.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2024Review
- Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds May Contribute to Atopic Dermatitis in Adults.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Machine learning-driven identification of air toxic combinations associated with asthma symptoms among elementary school children in Spokane, Washington, USA.The Science of the total environment · 2024Article
- Association between Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds and the Prevalence of Sleep Problems in US Adults.Toxics · 2024Article
- Exposure limits for indoor volatile substances concerning the general population: The role of population-based differences in sensory irritation of the eyes and airways for assessment factors.Archives of toxicology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous domestic pollutants. Their role in asthma/allergy development and exacerbations is uncertain. This systematic review investigated whether domestic VOC exposure increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergic disorders. We systematically searched 11 databases and three trial repositories, and contacted an international panel of experts to identify published and unpublished experimental and epidemiological studies. 8455 potentially relevant studies were identified; 852 papers were removed after de-duplication, leaving 7603 unique papers that were screened. Of these, 278 were reviewed in detail and 53 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Critical appraisal of the included studies indicated an overall lack of high-quality evidence and substantial risk of bias in this body of knowledge. Aromatics (i.e. benzenes, toluenes and xylenes) and formaldehyde were the main VOC classes studied, both in relation to the development and exacerbations of asthma and allergy. Approximately equal numbers of studies reported that exposure increased risks and that exposure was not associated with any detrimental effects. The available evidence implicating domestic VOC exposure in the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma and allergy is of poor quality and inconsistent. Prospective, preferably experimental studies, investigating the impact of reducing/eliminating exposure to VOC, are now needed in order to generate a more definitive evidence base to inform policy and clinical deliberations in relation to the management of the now substantial sections of the population who are either at risk of developing asthma/allergy or living with established disease.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.