Abstract
A questionnaire was used to survey schoolchildren (6-12 years of age) in Joetsu City for multiple chemical sensitivity-like symptoms (MCS-like symptoms), allergies and particularly offensive odor. The city has a school-age population of 12,045 children. The number of collected questionnaires was 10,348, representing 85.9% of the total number of schoolchildren. The children's parents or guardians were asked about the symptoms exhibited their children. The questionnaire was based on the MCS criteria for diagnosis adopted by the Allergy Committee of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). The questionnaire included 14 items from the MCS criteria. The number of schoolchildren with MCS-like symptoms was 979 (9.5%) in the total survey population of 10,348 schoolchildren. The rate of pollinosis was 19.3%, allergy (including pollinosis) was 47.6% and particularly offensive odor was 32.7%.
MCS is considered different from the immunological mechanisms of an allergy. The schoolchildren with MCS-like symptoms, however, had many allergies at a rate of 63.7%. Schoolchildren who had not been selected as exhibiting MCS-like symptoms had an allergy rate of 46.3%. The difference in the allergy rate between the two groups of schoolchildren was significant. In addition, many schoolchildren with MCS-like symptoms had a particularly offensive odor at a rate of 60.5%. Schoolchildren who had not been selected as exhibiting MCS-like symptoms had a particularly offensive odor rate of 30.6%. Similarly, the difference in the particularly offensive odor rate between the two groups of schoolchildren was significant.
As age increased, the ratio of schoolchildren with MCS-like symptoms, allergies and particularly offensive odor increased. The results suggest that older schoolchildren were more sensitive to chemicals.
