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. 2021 Jun 6;18(11):6136.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18116136.

Humidifier Disinfectant Consumption and Humidifier Disinfectant-Associated Lung Injury in South Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Jeonggyo Yoon  1 , Minsun Kang  2 , Jaehun Jung  1   2 , Min Jae Ju  1   3 , Sung Hwan Jeong  4 , Wonho Yang  5 , Yoon-Hyeong Choi  1   3
Affiliations

Humidifier Disinfectant Consumption and Humidifier Disinfectant-Associated Lung Injury in South Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Jeonggyo Yoon et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Humidifier disinfectant (HD) is a household biocidal product used in humidifier water tanks to prevent the growth of microorganisms. In 2011, a series of lung injury cases of unknown causes emerged in children and pregnant women who had used HD in Korea. This study investigated changes in the nationwide number of cases of humidifier disinfectant-associated lung injury (HDLI) in concordance with nationwide HD consumption using data covering the entire Korean population. More than 25 kinds of HD products were sold between 1994 and 2011. The number of diagnosed HDLI, assessed by S27.3 (other injuries of lungs) of the Korea National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data, sharply increased by 2005, subsequently decreased after 2005, and almost disappeared after 2011 in concordance with the annual number of HD sales. The number of self-reported HDLIs, assessed using data from all suspected HDLI cases registered in the Korea Ministry of Environment, changed with the annual number of HD sales, with a delay pattern, potentially induced by the late awareness of lung injury diseases. The present study suggests that changes in the nationwide annual consumption of HD products were consistent with changes in the annual number of HDLI cases in Korea.

Keywords: HDLI; NHIS; humidifier disinfectant; humidifier disinfectant sales; lung injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Annual sales of humidifier disinfectants and NHIS-recorded cases of S27.3. * Cases in 2002 may include pre-existing cases and are indicated as dotted lines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Annual sales of humidifier disinfectants and self-reported cases of HDLI.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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