You are here:
Air Quality and Indoor Environmental Exposures: Clinical Impacts
Citation:
Dye, J. Air Quality and Indoor Environmental Exposures: Clinical Impacts. In Proceedings, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Annual Forum, Denver, CO, June 08 - 11, 2016. American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM), Denver, CO, 1-3, (2016).
Impact/Purpose:
In this overview presentation, health effects associated with commonly encountered ambient air pollutants and indoor contaminants will be broken down by agent class. Because pets, like their owners, spend most of their lives indoors, we will discuss how certain home conditions can worsen indoor air quality and will briefly discuss measures to improve IAQ for owners and their pets.
Description:
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term which refers to the air quality within and around buildings and homes as it relates to the health and comfort of the occupants. Many ambient (outdoor) air pollutants readily permeate indoor spaces. Because indoor air can be considerably more polluted than ambient air, the USEPA lists poor IAQ as a major environmental concern. In the sections that follow, health effects associated with commonly encountered ambient air pollutants and indoor contaminants will be broken down by agent class. In some cases, exposure may be acute, with one or more pets (and owners) experiencing signs within a relatively short period. However, most exposures are episodic or chronic, making it difficult to definitively link poor IAQ to respiratory or other adverse health outcomes. Age or underlying immunologic, cardiac, or respiratory disease may further complicate the clinical picture, as those patients may be more sensitive to (and affected by) lower concentrations than prove problematic for healthy housemates. Because pets, like their owners, spend most of their lives indoors, we will discuss how certain home conditions can worsen indoor air quality and will briefly discuss measures to improve IAQ for owners and their pets.
