Journal article
Indoor Allergen Exposure in relation to Sleep Health among US Adults
The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. Global, Vol.4(2), 100441
05/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacig.2025.100441
PMCID: PMC11978379
PMID: 40201037
Abstract
Background
Common indoor allergens can accumulate within the sleep microenvironment (e.g., bedding) and may contribute to poor sleep health.
Objective
To examine bedroom allergen exposure in relation to multiple sleep dimensions among US adults.
Methods
Data for this study (N=3,399) were collected during the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination. Concentrations of 8 bedroom allergens were assessed and classified as elevated when levels exceeded 75th/90th percentile-thresholds. Self-reported sleep measures included having trouble sleeping, any sleep disorder, snoring, and sleep medication use. Adjusting for confounders, we used Poisson regression to estimate associations between bedroom allergen exposures and sleep dimensions overall and by race/ethnicity, sex/gender, and socioeconomic status (SES).
Results
Among adults, elevated pet allergen exposure was the most prevalent (41.2%). Elevated pest allergen exposure was associated with a lower likelihood of a reported sleep disorder diagnosis (PRoverall: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51–0.90). For Hispanic/Latino participants, elevated pet allergen was associated with having trouble sleeping (PR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.02–2.96) and frequent snoring (PR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.01–1.70). Elevated fungal allergen exposure was associated with any sleep disorder diagnosis among participants with moderate SES (PR: 3.31, 95% CI: 1.21–9.10) and a higher prevalence of sleep medication use for Hispanic/Latino ([PR: 5.72, 95% CI: 2.53–12.90] participants; p-interaction <0.01). Elevated exposure to pet (PR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.12–3.32) and fungal (PR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.05-2.80) allergens were also associated with being diagnosed with any sleep disorder among women.
Conclusion
In a nationally-representative sample of US adults, exposure to elevated levels of bedroom allergens was associated with poor sleep health, and the magnitude of the associations were generally the strongest among minoritized racial/ethnic groups and women.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Indoor Allergen Exposure in relation to Sleep Health among US Adults
- Creators
- Jamie A. Murkey - National Institute of Environmental Health SciencesJesse WilkersonPaivi M. Salo - National Institute of Environmental Health SciencesPeter S. Thorne - University of IowaDarryl C. Zeldin - National Institute of Environmental Health SciencesChandra L. Jackson - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. Global, Vol.4(2), 100441
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jacig.2025.100441
- PMID
- 40201037
- PMCID
- PMC11978379
- NLM abbreviation
- J Allergy Clin Immunol Glob
- ISSN
- 2772-8293
- eISSN
- 2772-8293
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Grant note
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest. We thank the National Center for Health Statistics for designing, conducting, and disseminating the NHANES survey and data files. We also thank all of the NHANES respondents for their participation in the survey. The data sets analyzed during the present study are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is publicly available at and was retrieved from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/Default.aspx.
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 02/2025
- Date published
- 05/2025
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Occupational and Environmental Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984790991602771
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