Effect of indoor mold concentrations on daily symptom severity of children with asthma and/or rhinitis monosensitized to molds

Little is known about the contribution of indoor molds to the symptoms of asthma and/or rhinitis in children monosensitized to molds. We aimed to investigate the effect of indoor mold spore concentrations on daily symptoms of asthma and/or rhinitis in children monosensitized to molds. Nineteen children with asthma and/or rhinitis sensitized only to molds recorded their daily symptoms and peak expiratory flow ( PEF) values to the diaries, from February 2005 to January 2006. In this study period, indoor mold concentrations were measured monthly from the living rooms/bedrooms. The median indoor mold concentration was 37.5 CFU/m(3). Most commonly recovered indoor molds were Cladosporium ( 26.4%), Penicillium ( 24.7%), and Aspergillus ( 7%). Significant correlation was not found between indoor mold concentrations and daily rhinitis score ( r = -0.021, p = 0.932), daily asthma score ( r = 0.155, p = 0.554), daily morning PEF ( r = -0.056, p = 0.475), and evening PEF ( r = -0.057, p = 0.471). The effect of indoor molds is not evident on the symptoms of our patients with asthma and/or rhinitis monosensitized to molds.