Confirmed moisture damage and risk of asthma from birth to age 6 years

Introduction : Few cohort studies are available on the association between moisture damage, confirmed by technical inspection, and risk of new asthma. Aim : To study the association between confirmed moisture damage at the age of 5 months on average and risk of asthma by the age of 6 years. Methods : Building inspection was performed by building engineers in the homes of 394 children, and the children were followed up with repeated questionnaires from birth to the age of 6 years. Current asthma was defined as doctor diagnoses of asthma ever and either current asthma medication or wheezing symptoms at the age of 6 years. Odds ratios (OR) were adjusted for potential confounders using discrete time hazard model and GEE. Results : Severe moisture damage in the kitchen (OR 2.80, 95%CI 1.02-7.64) or in the child9s bedroom (OR 3.65, 95%CI 1.00-13.28) and visible mold in the child9s bedroom (OR 4.02, 95%CI 1.58-10.21) increased the incidence of doctor diagnosed asthma ever in life (n=60). Similar associations were observed with current asthma (n=33) and with wheezing apart from cold. Weaker associations were observed with moisture damage in the main living areas. No consistent associations were observed with moisture damage in the bathrooms or in other interior spaces of the house. There was some suggestion that the associations were weaker during the latter part of the follow-up. Conclusions : The results are consistent with our earlier report over the first 1.5 years of life (Karvonen et al. 2009). The results support earlier conclusions that moisture damage not only increases the risk of respiratory symptoms, but is also associated with increased risk of developing new asthma.