Atopic dermatitis and the indoor climate: the effect from preventive measures.

This study investigates the connection between indoor climate and eczema. Nine patients suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD) were examined by doctors before and after moving to houses with better air exchange, low relative humidity and optimal temperature control. Every month for two years, three clinical and subjective assessments were made of disease activity, and compared with changes in suspended and respirable dust particles, room temperature, air exchange rate, number of house dust mites in bedrooms, and the levels of organic solvents in the indoor air. Ten matched sufferers of AD, who did not move, acted as a control. The skin condition of those patients who moved improved significantly. While the indoor climate - air exchange rate, relative humidity and room temperature - was improved in the new houses, the numbers of house dust mites, respirable air particles and organic solvents were left unchanged. The resultant clinical and subjective improvements in AD could not be correlated to any one of the three elements of the indoor climate which were improved. The study endorses the current leading theory that AD is a disease caused by many factors, one of which is indoor climate.