Building dampness and respiratory health

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1: Respir Med. 2003 Apr;97(4):302-7. Related Articles, Links

The relationship between indicators of building dampness and

respiratory health in young Swedish adults.

Gunnbjornsdottir MI, Norback D, Plaschke P, Norrman E, Bjornsson E,

Janson C.

Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory Medicine and

Allergology, Akademiska University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.

maria.gunnbjornsdottir@...

Several epidemiological studies have indicated that building

dampness affects the respiratory health of the inhabitants. In this

study we investigated the relationship between building dampness and

respiratory symptoms in young Swedish adults. In 1993, as a part of

the European Community Respiratory Health Survey stage II, subjects

were invited to participate in a detailed interview-led

questionnaire, spirometry, methacholine challenge and measurement of

total and specific IgE. A total of 1853 of the 2084 selected

subjects participated in this study (88.9%). One hundred and thirty-

six (7.4%) subjects reported water damage in their homes in the last

year and 318 (17.3%) subjects reported visible molds during the same

period. Seventy-four (4%) subjects reported both water damage and

visible molds in the last year. This subgroup, with 74 subjects had

significantly more attacks of breathlessness both when resting (OR

3.2 (95% CI 1.4-7.2)) and after effort (OR 2.7 (95% CI 1.3-5.6))

compared to subjects reporting no water damage or molds. Long-term

cough was also more common in this group (OR 2.2 (95% CI 1.2-4.0)).

This study adds evidence to a relationship between damp buildings

and respiratory symptoms.

PMID: 12693790 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=12693790 & dopt=Abstract