Fresh clothes, hard breaths: Laundry washing habits, detergents, softeners, and impaired respiratory functions in children with wheezing.

BACKGROUND

Early childhood wheezing may indicate asthma risk, making assessment of environmental triggers crucial. Recent research has identified potential effects of laundry product chemicals on airway epithelial barriers.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between the chemical contents and usage habits of household laundry products and pulmonary function in preschool children with recurrent wheezing and the effect of using soap-based detergent without additives on respiratory parameters measured by impulse oscillometry.

METHODS

This prospective case-control study enrolled 80 recently diagnosed children with wheezing (CW) and 80 healthy children (HC) between August 2023 and February 2024. Laundry habits and product chemical ingredients were recorded. Respiratory function was measured by impulse oscillometry, assessing airway resistance (zR5, zR20, and R5-20) and reactance (zX5, zX20, resonance frequency, and reactance area).

RESULTS

Softener use was higher in the CW group (P = .011). Chemical analysis revealed significantly higher frequency of sodium lauryl sulfate, nonionic active substances, cocoglycoside, methylsotilozlolinone, butylphenyl methylpropional, linolol, coumarin, and oxygen-based bleaching agents in detergents used by the CW group compared with HCs (P < .05). Similarly, cationic active substances, coumarin, linolol, and benzisotizolinone were more prevalent in softeners used by CW families (P < .05). The CW group exhibited higher resistance values (zR5, zR20, R5-20, resonance frequency, and reactance area) and lower zX5 compared with HC (P < .05). Children using additive-free detergents had lower airway resistance (zR5 and zR20) (P < .05), whereas those using soap-free products had higher resistance measurements (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

CW have greater exposure to laundry softener chemicals than healthy counterparts. Additive-containing products were associated with increased airway resistance, whereas soap-based detergents had no detectable impact on respiratory function. These findings suggest a potential link between chemical laundry products and impaired respiratory function in preschool CW.