Effect of exposure to dampness and mould on resporatory health – a longitudinal, multi-country approach

Introduction:

Adverse respiratory effects of exposure to mould and dampness at home have been documented in a number of mainly cross-sectional studies. The aim was to investigate the effect of concurrent versus long-term exposure to mould and/or dampness on respiratory allergies, considering several follow-ups from birth until adolescence.

Methods:

The study comprised 14384 subjects from 7 European birth cohorts within the MeDALL project. Exposure to mould and dampness as well as asthma (2 out of 3: physician-diagnosis ever, wheezing and/or asthma medication in the past 12 months) and symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis (runny or blocked nose without a cold in the past 12 months and itchy, watery eyes) were assessed by questionnaires. For 6 birth cohorts, aeroallergen sensitization was measured, which was further used to define allergic asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis. The longitudinal relationship between early (birth-1year) and concurrent (at 8 – 10years and 14 – 16years) exposure to mould/dampness with disease prevalence was modelled study specific using general estimation equation (GEE) models and combined in a random-effects meta-analysis. Additionally, discrete time hazard (DTH) models were used to analyse associations with incidence.

Results:

Early exposure to mould and/or dampness was borderline significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma between 4 and 16 years of age in GEE analyses (OR = 1.14, 95%-CI =(0.99 – 1.31)). Concurrent, but not early exposure to mould and/or dampness at home increased the risk for allergic asthma (1.24 (1.02 – 1.51)). There was no association of early or concurrent exposure to dampness/mould with rhinoconjunctivitis and aeroallergen sensitization. Results of DTH models were similar.

Conclusions:

This study suggests that exposure to dampness/mould increases the risk of presence and onset of (allergic) asthma while there were no effects on rhinoconjunctivitis or aeroallergen sensitization from early childhood until adolescence.