Disinfectants are often used in hospitals and other medical facilities and the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in their use in medical settings and also in the wider population, including the general population. Exposure to disinfectants in the workplace has previously been linked to asthma and dermatitis in workers who have been exposed, but few studies have examined the impact of disinfectant use during pregnancy and the subsequent development of allergic disease in children. The authors used data from 78,915 mother-child couples in the Japan Environmental and Child Study to examine whether mothers’ exposure to disinfectants in the workplace was associated with an increased risk of developing allergic diseases in their 3-year-old children. The chances of children with asthma or eczema were significantly higher if their mothers used disinfectant one to six times a week compared to the chances of children of mothers who never used disinfectants. There was an exposure-dependent relationship between prenatal exposure to disinfectants and the likelihood of children developing these allergic conditions, with children of mothers exposed to disinfectants daily having the highest chance of diagnosis – 26% more for asthma and 29% greater for eczema than children of mothers who have never been exposed to disinfectants. There were no significant correlations between disinfectant use and food allergies. This is an observational study, and therefore, can not determine the cause. The authors also noted some limitations, including that information about maternal disinfectant use was reported on its own with specific unspecified disinfectants. Diagnoses of allergic diseases in children were also reported by mothers. However, the authors conclude, “Our findings suggest this report [to disinfectants] “During pregnancy it has an effect on allergies in the offspring, regardless of whether the mother returns to work when the child is 1 year old, and suggests an effect of exposure only during pregnancy.” They added, “Given the current increased use of disinfectants to prevent new coronavirus infections, it is important for public health to consider whether prenatal exposure to a disinfectant poses a risk of developing allergic diseases.” Several mechanisms that could explain the increased risk of allergic disease in children after their mother was exposed to disinfectants during pregnancy have been proposed by the authors. They included microbiome (disinfectants affect the intestinal and skin microflora of the mother and then the baby), immunological (exposure to certain chemicals during pregnancy affects the immune response of the fetus), postpartum exposure (children inhale or touched disinfectant molecules on their mothers skin), or bias (mothers who frequently use medical disinfectants are likely to have more medical knowledge and better access to health care). Reference: “Prenatal exposure to occupational disinfectants and child allergies: a study of the environment and children of Japan” by Reiji Kojima, Ryoji Shinohara, Megumi Kushima, Sayaka Horiuchi, Sanae Otawa, Hiroshi Yokomichi, Yuka Akiyama, Takeo Miyar82 , March 2022, Occupational and Environmental Medicine. DOI: 10.1136 / oemed-2021-108034
