{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:45:30Z","timestamp":1785422730155,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779667200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007277","name":"Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["D43 ES 018745"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D43 ES 018745"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007277","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["D43 ES 018745"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D43 ES 018745"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04a9tmd77","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: During the firing stage of artisanal brick production, particulate matter and other pollutants are released into the air, to which children are particularly vulnerable. Objective: To compare the frequency of allergic diseases and impaired lung function among children exposed and unexposed to artisanal brick production. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 386 children aged 6 to 14 years, recruited from a primary and a secondary school in Guanajuato, Mexico. Participants were classified as exposed (n = 193) or unexposed (n = 193) to artisanal brick production. Once parents and children voluntarily consented to participate, study procedures were initiated. Forced spirometry and anthropometric measurements were performed, and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire was administered. We assessed the frequency of respiratory symptoms, allergic diseases, and lung function abnormalities. We measured the frequency of respiratory symptoms, allergic diseases, and lung function abnormalities. Results: The mean age of the 386 children was 9.7 \u00b1 1.7 years. Each group consisted of 103 girls and 90 boys. The most important risk factors for impaired lung function were living in the brickyard (OR = 6.9, 95% CI: 4.3\u201311.1; p = 0.001) and being male (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 2.3\u20135.7; p = 0.001). The prevalence of impaired lung function was 13.5% in exposed and 4.1% in unexposed children (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.5\u20138.1; p = 0.001). Most of the respiratory symptoms observed were obstructive and we found no difference in the frequency of allergic diseases, but respiratory symptoms were more frequent in exposed children. Conclusions: Respiratory symptoms and obstructive abnormalities in pulmonary function are more prevalent among children living in brickyards. Male sex and residence in the brickyard were the principal risk factors for impaired lung function.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13060734","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]],"date-time":"2026-05-25T15:05:08Z","timestamp":1779721508000},"page":"734","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Allergic Diseases and Impaired Lung Function in Children Exposed and Unexposed to Artisanal Brick Production"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3841-771X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benigno","family":"Linares Segovia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Nutrition and Food Security Laboratory (LANAySA), Division of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine and Nutrition, University of Guanajuato, Blvd. Puente del Milenio 1001, Leon 37670, Guanajuato, Mexico"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Unidad M\u00e9dica de Alta Especialidad, Salamanca 36730, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roc\u00edo Stephanie","family":"Berm\u00fadez P\u00e9rez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Nutrition and Food Security Laboratory (LANAySA), Division of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine and Nutrition, University of Guanajuato, Blvd. Puente del Milenio 1001, Leon 37670, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6555-0682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebeca","family":"Monroy-Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Nutrition and Food Security Laboratory (LANAySA), Division of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine and Nutrition, University of Guanajuato, Blvd. Puente del Milenio 1001, Leon 37670, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Octavio Alejandro","family":"Jim\u00e9nez Garza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychology and Nursing School, Coahuila Autonomous University, North Unit, Carretera 57 Kil\u00f3metro 5, Monclova 25720, Coah, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Norma","family":"Amador Licona","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UMAE HE 1, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Blvd. Adolfo Lopez Mateos SN, Leon 37320, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juan M.","family":"Gu\u00edzar-Mendoza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Odontolog\u00eda, Campus Leon, Universidad De La Salle Baj\u00edo, Av. Universidad 602, Leon 37150, Guanajuato, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rodrigo Francisco","family":"del R\u00edo Hidalgo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pneumology, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8577-4168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Antonio","family":"Ortega Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hospital Universitario de la Virgen Arrixaca, Universidad Murcia, 30120 Murcia, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luz","family":"Claudio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of International Health, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2021). 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