SHORT TERM EXPOSURE TO VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) CAUSES IMPAIRMENT OF SKIN BARRIER FUNCTION IN MAN

摘要

Exposure to indoor concentrations of formaldehyde was reported to cause disturbance of the epidermal barrier function in healthy volunteers and patients with atopic eczema (AE). No such data are available on VOCs which are widely occurring indoor air contaminants. In a double-blind crossover study we exposed 12 adults with AE and 12 matched controls to a mixture of 22 VOCs in an exposure chamber for 4h (TVOC: 5mg/m~3). The transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was measured in all subjects before, during and after exposure. Pronounced changes in TEWL were observed 48h after the VOC exposure as compared to the exposure with cleaned air alone (mean change: +34.1%; 95% confidence interval: 6.6 -68.6%). Significant differences between the patients and controls could not be detected. The results indicate an impairment of the epidermal barrier function in patients with AE and in healthy controls induced by VOC exposure in concentrations encountered in indoor environments.