Goals Much scientific proof indicates an optimistic association between moldy conditions and respiratory ailments and/or symptoms (e. their exposure. Outcomes General the geometric mean (GM) focus of (1 3 in submicron fungal fragments in inside atmosphere was two-fold higher in homes with asthmatic kids (50.9 pg/m3) in comparison to homes with non-asthmatic children (26.7 pg/m3) (< 0.001). The GM focus of these contaminants in child's bedroom in homes with an asthmatic kid (66.1 pg/m3) was around three Protopanaxatriol times greater than that in homes with non-asthmatic children (23.0 pg/m3) (< 0.001). The comparative humidity had a poor correlation using the focus of (1 3 in submicron fungal fragments (Pearson coefficient = ?0.257 = 0.046). Conclusions Our results indicate that homes with asthmatic kids have an increased focus of submicron fungal fragments in comparison to homes with non-asthmatic kids. A higher contact with smaller-sized fungal particles may occur in homes with an asthmatic kid mainly because relative humidity reduces. The very cautious control of comparative humidity in inside air is essential for reducing contact with fine fungal contaminants and inhibiting the development of microorganisms in homes with sensitive diseases. could be deposited for a price 230-fold greater than intact airborne spores (Cho et al. 2005 Furthermore contact with airborne fine contaminants has been associated with adverse wellness effects for the respiratory and cardiac reactions. In particular the quantity concentrations of ultrafine contaminants (< 0.1 μm) as opposed to the mass concentrations of the particles have already been strongly connected with undesirable health effects (Penttinen et al. 2001 Peters et al. 1997 Von Klot et al. 2002 Because of this a greater health impact from submicron fungal fragments might be expected due to their smaller size and higher number concentration. However the contribution of submicron fungal fragments including debris of spores and hyphae on health are poorly characterized. In this study we evaluated and compared the level of submicron fungal fragments expressed as the concentration of (1 3 between homes with and without asthmatic children. In addition the effect of physical factors in indoor air such as temperature and humidity on the concentration of submicron fungal fragments was evaluated. 2 Methods 2.1 Study subjects We selected 15 homes with asthmatic children shown to be sensitized to mold only by skin prick tests among the childhood asthmatics registered at the Environmental Health Center for Asthma Korea University General Hospital during 2010 and 2011. We also chose 14 homes with non-asthmatic children determined by a physician after visiting the Pediatrics Clinic Korea University General Hospital selected to have similar ages genders the number of people residing and size of dwellings as shown in Table 1. None of the non-asthmatic children Protopanaxatriol were also sensitized with any allergen of 18 common aeroallergens used for the skin prick test. This study was approved by the institutional review board of the Korea University Anam Hospital (No. ED07111). Table 1 Characteristics of dwellings and demographic information of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. 2.2 Exposure Protopanaxatriol assessment We used a questionnaire for collecting demographic information of children and data Protopanaxatriol of characteristics of dwellings: types and size of dwellings living level (ground floor or higher) house age D2S1473 and the presence of visible mold or water stains on the wall or ceilings. Indoor investigations of dwellings were also performed by trained researchers and the procedures of exposure assessment are described below in detail. 2.2 Air sampling for submicron fungal fragments and analysis Air samples for submicron fungal fragments were collected using the NIOSH two-stage sampler (Lindsley et al. 2006 as described in detail elsewhere (Seo et al. 2008 Briefly each NIOSH two-stage sampler was loaded with a 37 mm gamma-irradiated polycarbonate filter with a pore size of 0.8 μm (SKC Inc. Eighty Four PA USA) and connected to a pump (Gillian 5000; Sensidyne FL USA). The samplers were placed in the living room and child’s bedroom (indoor) and balcony (outdoor) of the visited homes (total number of samples: 3 samples (indoor + outdoor)/home × 29 homes = 87 samples). Sampling was performed for about 7-8 h depending on the overall.