Exploring Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Psychological Symptoms in Humidifier Disinfectant Survivors

Effects of Psychotherapy on the Problem Behaviors of Humidifier Disinfectant Survivors: The Role of Individual Characteristics and Adaptive Functioning

This study aimed to examine group differences in the survivors of humidifier damage and the effect of individual psychotherapy on the psychological symptoms of the survivor groups, using the single group pre-post study design. A series of Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to investigate the level of psychological problems before and after psychotherapy, as well as the main and interaction effects of demographic characteristics and adaptive functioning on the treatment effects in 69 humidifier disinfectant survivors. The results demonstrated significant differences in problems with socioeconomic status (SES), life functioning, friendships, family relationships, and job adjustment in the survivor groups. Groups with high SES, low life functioning, and poor friend relationships had more problem behaviors than other groups. Problem behaviors related to friendship levels were different before and after psychotherapy. After psychotherapy, individuals with limited social connections exhibited a greater decrease in problem behaviors compared to those with strong friendships. This paper extends the international literature on the long-term consequences of environmental health hazards and the importance of tailored mental health interventions.

Multi-layer relationships between psychological symptoms and life adaptation among humidifier disinfectant survivors

In April 2011, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the results of an epidemiological investigation that an unknown cause of lung disease that occurred throughout Korea was caused by humidifier disinfectants. The unprecedented social catastrophe caused by humidifier disinfectants, a household chemical, has so far reported 1,784 deaths and 5,984 survivors in South Korea. This study was designed to investigate the multi-layer relationships between psychological symptoms and adaptive functioning in survivors of the Humidifier disinfectants in South Korea caused by chemical toxic substances. Specifically, this study aimed to explore how psychological symptoms affect actual interpersonal relationships and job adjustment with two variable sets, six internalizing and externalizing subscales, and three adaptation subscales. A total of 224 survivors recruited from a program to support humidifier disinfectant survivors by the government participated in this study. This research was approved by the Institutional Review Board of one of the Universities in South Korea. The age range of the participants was 18–73 years (M = 42.23, SD = 10.90), 37.1% (n = 83) were male, and 62.9% (n = 141) were female. The participants responded to the Adult Self-Report (ASR) of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). A Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) generated three unique patterns in the relationships between psychological symptoms and adaptive functions. Humidifier disinfectant survivors in the first pattern were more vulnerable to psychological symptoms and showed maladaptive functioning in life. Survivors in the second pattern showed intrusive behaviors and appeared to be adaptive in relationships with friends. Finally, survivors in the third pattern showed aggressive behaviors and reported poor partner relationships while showing good relationships with friends. The practical implications of the interventions are also discussed.

Health Effects Associated With Humidifier Disinfectant Use: A Systematic Review for Exploration

BACKGROUND

It has been 10 years since the outbreak of lung disease caused by humidifier disinfectants in Korea, but the health effects have not yet been summarized. Therefore, this study aims to systematically examine the health effects of humidifier disinfectants that have been discovered so far.

METHODS

All literature with humidifier disinfectants and their representative components as the main words were collected based on the web, including PubMed, Research Information Sharing Service, and government publication reports. A total of 902 studies were searched, of which 196 were selected. They were divided into four groups: published human studies (group 1), published animal and cytotoxicology studies (group 2), technical reports (group 3), and gray literature (group 4).

RESULTS

Out of the 196 studies, 97 (49.5%) were published in peer-reviewed journals as original research. Group 1 consisted of 49 articles (50.5%), while group 2 consisted of 48 articles (49.5%). Overall, respiratory diseases such as humidifier disinfectant associated lung injury, interstitial lung disease, and asthma have a clear correlation, but other effects such as liver, heart, thymus, thyroid, fetal growth, metabolic abnormalities, and eyes are observed in toxicological experimental studies, but have not yet been identified in epidemiologic studies.

CONCLUSION

The current level of evidence does not completely rule out the effects of humidifier disinfectants on extrapulmonary disease. Based on the toxicological evidence so far, it is required to monitor the population of humidifier disinfectant exposure continuously to see if similar damage occurs.