There is a growing public health concern about indoor air quality due to the time spent indoors and the presence of numerous biological and chemical pollutants. Aims: To assess indoor chemical pollutant levels, to model domestic exposure and to examine the impact of indoor chemical pollutants on the respiratory health of infants from the PARIS birth cohort, during their first year of life. Methods: Multiple self-administered questionnaires were used to gather information from parents about respiratory infections and asthma-like symptoms (wheezing, nocturnal dry cough. . . ) in their infants at ages 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Details about home characteristics and family living conditions were also collected by phone interview when the child was 1 month old, and mailed questionnaires captured changes at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Pollutant air sampling (aldehyde, volatile organic compound, nitrogendioxide and nicotine) were conducted at 1, 6, 9 and 12 months in the bedrooms of a subset of randomly selected 196infants. Repeated pollutant measurements were joined with interview and questionnaire information to construct annual pollutant exposure models for all infants. Furthermore, an environmental investigation was performed in Parisian child day care centers to document chemical exposure levels. Results: Formaldehyde, toluene, nitrogen dioxide and perchlororethylene level determinants: continuous sources (particleboard, varnished parquet floor, wall coating), discontinuous sources (combustion, dry cleaning facilities) and aeration parameters were identified. At one year, around half of babies experienced at least one lower respiratory infection, and nearly half of those infections included wheezing, 14,8 % of babies suffered from a nocturnal dry cough. After known risk factors were considered, lower respiratory infections were associated with estimated formaldehyde levels, and formaldehyde exposure is also related to nocturnal dry cough, especially in infants without parental history of allergy. Conclusion: This study shows that formaldehyde exposure in early life is associated with respiratory health in infants, promoting public actions regarding emissions from materials
