Abstract
Common chemical products and pollutants—such as pesticides, solvents, new building materials, and fragranced consumer products—have been associated with adverse health and societal effects. For some, the effects can be severe and disabling. This national population study in Sweden examined the prevalence and effects of chemical sensitivity, a condition characterized by health problems from chemical pollutant exposures. In addition, it examined the prevalence of medically diagnosed multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), and the co-occurrence of chemical sensitivity with asthma and asthma-like conditions, and with fragrance sensitivity (health problems from fragranced consumer products). Using a nationally representative sample, an online survey was conducted in July 2017 of adults in Sweden (n = 1100). This study found that, across the population, 18.5% report chemical sensitivity; 3.6% report medically diagnosed MCS; 23.2% are asthmatic, with diagnosed asthma (14.9%), an asthma-like condition (9.1%), or both; and 33.1% have fragrance sensitivity. Among the chemically sensitive, 49.0% are asthmatic and 86.8% are fragrance sensitive. Among asthmatics, 39.2% are chemically sensitive and 57.3% are fragrance sensitive. Health problems from fragranced products can be potentially disabling for 40.1% of the chemically sensitive and 36.3% of asthmatics. In addition, among the chemically sensitive, 24.0% have lost workdays or lost a job in the past year due to fragranced products in the workplace. Results indicate that chemical sensitivity is a widespread condition, affecting more than 1 million adults in Sweden, with fragrance sensitivity affecting nearly 2 million. Reducing chemical exposure to problematic sources, such as fragranced consumer products, is critical to reduce adverse health and societal effects.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
(DA) Discrimination Act (Diskrimineringslagen) 2008, SFS no: 2008: 567, section 5:4. Definition of disability https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/diskrimineringslag-2008567_sfs-2008-567 https://www.government.se/contentassets/6732121a2cb54ee3b21da9c628b6bdc7/oversattning-diskrimineringslagen_eng.pdf
Andersson L, Johansson A, Millqvist E, Nordin S, Bende M (2008) Prevalence and risk factors for chemical sensitivity and sensory hyperreactivity in teenagers. Int J Hyg Environ Health 211(5–6):690–697
Ashford NA, Miller CS (1998) Chemical exposures: low levels and high stakes, 2nd edn. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y
Azuma K, Uchiyama I, Katoh T, Ogata H, Arashidani K, Kunugita N (2015) Prevalence and characteristics of chemical intolerance: a Japanese population-based study. Arch Environ Occup Health 70:341–353
Caress S, Steinemann A (2003) A review of a two-phase population study of multiple chemical sensitivities. Environ Health Perspect 111(12):1490–1497
Caress S, Steinemann A (2005) National prevalence of asthma and chemical hypersensitivity: an examination of potential overlap. J Occup Environ Med 47(5):518–522
Caress SM, Steinemann AC (2009a) Prevalence of fragrance sensitivity in the American population. J Environ Health 71(7):46–50
Caress SM, Steinemann AC (2009b) Asthma and chemical hypersensitivity: prevalence, etiology, and age of onset. Toxicol Ind Health 25(1):71–78
Carlsson F, Karlson B, Ørbæk P, Österberg K, Östergren P-O (2005) Prevalence of annoyance attributed to electrical equipment and smells in a Swedish population, and relationship with subjective health and daily functioning. Public Health 119:568–577
Eysenbach G (2004) Improving the quality of web surveys: the checklist for reporting results of internet E-surveys (CHERRIES). J Med Internet Res 6(3):e34
Johansson Å, Brämerson A, Millqvist E, Nordin S, Bende M (2005) Prevalence and risk factors for self-reported odour intolerance: the Skövde population-based study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 78:559–564
Kreutzer R, Neutra RR, Lashuay N (1999) Prevalence of people reporting sensitivities to chemicals in a population-based survey. Am J Epidemiol 150(1):1–12
McDonald BC, de Gouw JA, Gilman JB, Jathar SH, Akherati A, Cappa CD et al (2018) Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions. Science 359(6377):760–764
Miller CS, Prihoda TJ (1999) The Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (EESI): a standardized approach for measuring chemical intolerances for research and clinical applications. Toxicol Ind Health 15(3–4):370–385
National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2011) Existing Surveillance Data Sources and Systems. Institute of Medicine, Committee on a National Surveillance System for Cardiovascular and Select Chronic Diseases. National Academies Press, Washington DC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK83157/
Nordin S, Millqvist E, Löwhagen O, Bende B (2004) A short chemical sensitivity scale for assessment of airway sensory hyperreactivity. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 77:249–254
Ott W, Steinemann A, Wallace L (eds) (2007) Exposure analysis. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL
Palmquist E, Claeson AS, Neely G, Stenberg B, Nordin S (2014) Overlap in prevalence between various types of environmental intolerance. Int J Hyg Environ Health 217(4–5):427–434
Skovbjerg S, Berg ND, Elberling J, Christensen KB 2012. Evaluation of the quick environmental exposure and sensitivity inventory in a Danish population, 1–10
SSI (Survey Sampling International) 2016. Dynamic sampling approach. Available from: https://www.surveysampling.com/technology/ssi-dynamix/
Statistics Sweden (SCB, Statistiska centralbyråns) (2018). Sweden Government Offices. 2017 population of adults ages 18–65: 5,992,498 people http://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/population-composition/population-statistics/pong/tables-and-graphs/yearly-statistics%2D%2Dthe-whole-country/summary-of-population-statistics/
Steinemann A (2015) Volatile emissions from common consumer products. Air Qual Atmos Health 8(3):273–281
Steinemann A (2016) Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions. Air Qual Atmos Health 9(8):861–866
Steinemann A (2017) Health and societal effects from fragranced consumer products. Prev Med Rep 5:45–47
Steinemann A (2018a) National prevalence and effects of multiple chemical sensitivities. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health 60(3):e152–e156
Steinemann A (2018b) Prevalence and effects of multiple chemical sensitivities in Australia. Prev Med Rep 10:191–194
Steinemann A (2018c) Exposures and effects from fragranced consumer products in Sweden. Air Qual Atmos Health 11(5):485–491
Steinemann A (2018d) Fragranced consumer products: effects on asthmatics. Air Qual Atmos Health 11(1):3–9
Steinemann A, Wheeler AJ, Larcombe A (2018) Fragranced consumer products: effects on asthmatic Australians. Air Qual Atmos Health 11(4):365–371
Ziem G, McTamney J (1997) Profile of patients with chemical injury and sensitivity. Environ Health Perspect 105(Suppl 2):417–436
Acknowledgements
I thank the reviewers of this article for their valuable comments and contributions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The research study received ethics approval from the University of Melbourne.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steinemann, A. Chemical sensitivity, asthma, and effects from fragranced consumer products: national population study in Sweden. Air Qual Atmos Health 12, 129–136 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-018-0640-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-018-0640-y