Mold a link to depression

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Last Updated: Nov 16, 2007 - 7:23:44 PM

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Molding a Link to Depression

By Carol Potera

Nov 16, 2007 - 7:22:12 PM

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The physical consequences of living in a damp, moldy house are well

documented and include increased asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments,

headaches, fatigue, and sore throats. People who live in moldy environments may

also have more depression, finds a study of 5,882 adults living in 2,982

households, published in the October 2007 issue of the American Journal of

Public

Health.

The connection between mold and mental health surprised even the lead

author, epidemiologist Edmond Shenassa of Brown University, who was skeptical of

the mold–depression link suggested by smaller studies. " We thought that once

we

statistically accounted for physical factors like crowding and psychological

aspects like not having control over one's living environment, then the

association between mold and depression would vanish, " he says. But rather than

debunking the notion, Shenassa found an association between mold toxins and

depression.

Shenassa and colleagues analyzed data collected by the Large Analysis and

Review of European Health Status, a survey of housing, health, and place of

residence compiled by the WHO in 2002 and 2003. WHO interviewers visited

households in eight European cities and asked residents about depressive

symptoms,

such as problems sleeping and decreased appetite. They also asked whether a

physician had diagnosed depression in the past year. Then they measured the

level of dampness and mold in each residence and classified any discernable

mold

exposure as minimal, moderate, or extensive.

About 40% of the residents lived in visibly damp, moldy households, and

overall their risk for depression averaged 34–44% higher than that for

residents

of mold-free dwellings, with moderate exposure associated with the highest

increase in risk. Shenassa says there may be a tipping point where a certain

critical amount of mold triggers a response that is not dose-related.

The heightened depression risk also correlated to respondents' perceptions

that a damp, moldy environment cannot be controlled, as well as to documented

physical health problems linked to mold exposure. " If you are sick from mold

and feel you can't get rid of it, it may affect your mental health, " says

Shenassa, who is undertaking animal studies to investigate whether mold toxins

alter behavioral and biochemical brain pathways involved in depression.

Gifford, a psychology professor at the University of ,

British Columbia, interprets the results cautiously. Considering only the

highest

level of mold contamination, when both physical health and perception of

control were factored in, the link between mold and depression shrank to

" virtually nothing, " he says. However, at minimal and moderate mold exposure,

even

when controlling for both mediators, there still remained a statistically

significant 28–34% higher risk, says Shenassa.

" There is a small relationship between [depression and] mold and dampness,

but it is impossible to say that there is a causal relationship, " Gifford

says. In addition, more details about income should be explored—wealthier

people

can afford to clean up extensive mold contamination, whereas low-income

people may be forced to live with it. " Income could be an important missing

variable, " he notes.

originally published on http://www.ehponline.org

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