Abstract
An assessment of the prevalence of dampness and mold in European housing stock was carried out. It is based on general indicators of dampness and mold in dwellings reported in the literature. The assessment relies on recent studies, taking into account regional and climatic differences, as well as differences in study design, methodology, and definitions. Data were available from 31 European countries. Weighted prevalence estimates are 12.1% for damp, 10.3% for mold, 10.0% for water damage, and 16.5% for a combination of any one or more indicators. Significant (up to 18%) differences were observed for dampness and mold prevalence estimates depending on survey factors, region, and climate. In conclusion, dampness and/or mold problems could be expected to occur in one of every six of the dwellings in Europe. Prevalence and occurrence of different types of problems may vary across geographical areas, which can be partly explained by differences in climate.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 6 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $43.17 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
IOM (Institute of Medicine). Damp Indoor Spaces and Health. The National Academies Press, Washington D.C., 2004.
WHO. Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould. WHO Regional Office for Europe: Copenhagen, 2009.
Jaakkola M., Haverinen-Shaughnessy U., Douwes J., and Nevalainen A. Indoor dampness and mould problems in homes and asthma onset in children. WHO Housing Programme. Draft Final Report. 2011.
Fisk W.J., Lei-Gomez Q., and Mendell M.J. Meta-analyses of the associations of respiratory health effects with dampness and mold in homes. Indoor Air 2007: 17: 284–296.
Mudarri D., and Fisk W.J. Public health and economic impact of dampness and mold. Indoor Air 2007: 17: 226–235.
Rintala T. 2010: http://en.opasnet.org/w/Asthma_prevalence_due_to_building_dampness_in_Europe.
Bornehag C.G., Blomquist G., Gyntelberg F., Järvholm B., Malmberg P., Nordvall L., Nielsen A., Pershagen G., and Sundell J. Dampness in buildings and health. Nordic interdisciplinary review of the scientific evidence on associations between exposure to “dampness” in buildings and health effects (NORDDAMP). Indoor Air 2001: 11: 72–86.
Bornehag C.G., Sundell J., Bonini S., Custovic A., Malmberg P., Skerfving S., Sigsgaard T., and Verhoeff A. Dampness in buildings as a risk factor for health effects, EUROEXPO: a multidisciplinary review of literature (1998–2000) on dampness and mite exposure in buildings and health effects. Indoor Air 2004: 14: 243–257.
WHO. Large Analysis and Review of European Housing and Health Status. Preliminary Overview. WHO Regional Office for Europe: Copenhagen, 2007.
Burney P.G., Luczynska C., Chinn S., and Jarvis D. The European community respiratory health survey. Eur Respir J 1994: 7: 954–960.
Nicol S. The relationship between housing conditions and health-some findings from the WHO LARES survey of 8 European cities. In: ENHR conference “Housing in an expanding Europe: theory, policy, participation and implementation”, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2–5 July 2006.
Zock J.-P., Jarvis D., Luczynska C., Sunyer J., and Burney P. Housing characteristics, reported mold exposure, and asthma in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002: 110: 285–292.
Antova T., Pattenden S., Brunekreef B., Heinrich J., Rudnai P., Forastiere F., Luttman-Gibson H., Grize L., Katsnelson B., Moshammer H., Nikiforov B., Slachtova H., Slotova H., Zlotkowska R., and Fletcher T. Exposure to indoor mould and children's respiratory health in the PATY study. J Epidemiol Commun Health 2008: 62: 708–714.
Bornehag C.G., Sundell J., Hagerhed-Engman L., Sigsggard T., Janson S., and Aberg N. “Dampness” at home and its association with airway, nose, and skin symptoms among 10,851 preschool children in Sweden: a cross-sectional study. Indoor Air 2005: 15 (Suppl 10): 48–55.
Neely J.G., Magit A.E., Rich J.T., Voelker C.J., Wang E.W., Paniello R.C., Nussenbaum B., and Bradley J.P. A practical guide to understanding systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surgery 2010: 142: 6–14.
Eurostat 2001. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/97425/3.5.pdf.
Lelkes O., and Zolyomi E. Housing Quality Deficiencies and the Link to Income in the EU. European Centre Policy Brief Series March 2010.
Brasche S., Heinz E., Hartmann T., Richter W., and Bischof W. [Prevalence, causes, and health aspects of dampness and mold in homes. Results of a population-based study in Germany]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 2003: 46: 683–693.
Chelelgo J., Haverinen U., Vahteristo M., Koivisto J., Jaaskelainen E., Husman T., and Nevaleinen A. Analysis of moisture findings in the interior spaces of Finnish housing stock. Air Waste Manag Assoc 2001: 51: 69–77.
Tamay Z., Akcay A., Ones U., Guler N., Kilic G., and Zencir M. Prevalence and risk factors for allergic rhinitis in primary school children. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2007: 71: 463–471. Epub 12 December 2006.
Turunen M., Paanala A., Villman J., Nevalainen A., and Haverinen-Shaughnessy U. Evaluating housing quality, health and safety using an internet-based data collection and response system: a cross-sectional study. Environ Health 2010: 9: 69.
Simoni M., Lombardi E., Berti G., Rusconi F., La Grutta S., Piffer S., Petronio M.G., Galassi C., Forastiere F., and Viegi G. Mould/dampness exposure at home is associated with respiratory disorders in Italian children and adolescents: the SIDRIA-2 Study. Occup Environ Med 2005: 62: 616–622.
Skorge T.D., Eagan T.M., Eide G.E., Gulsvik G., and Bakke P.S. Indoor exposures and respiratory symptoms in a Norweigian community sample. Thorax 2005: 60: 937–942.
du Prel X., Krämer U., and Ranft U. Changes in social inequality with respect to health-related living conditions of 6-year-old children in East Germany after re-unification. BMC Public Health 2005: 5: 64.
Wickman M., Melén E., Berglind N., Nordvall S.L., Almqvist C., Kull I., Svartengren M., and Pershagen G. Strategies for preventing wheezing and asthma in small children. Allergy 2003: 58: 742–747.
Braubach M., and Savelsberg J. Social Inequities and their Influence on Housing Risk Factors and Health. A data report based on the WHO LARES database. WHO Regional Office for Europe: Copenhagen 2009.
Braubach M., and Fairburn J. Social inequities in environmental risks associated with housing and residential location — a review of evidence. Eur J Public Health 2010: 20: 36–42.
Haverinen-Shaughnessy U., Hyvärinen A., Pekkanen J., Nevalainen A., Husman T., Korppi M., Halla-aho J., Koivisto J., and Moschandreas D. Occurrence and characteristics of moisture damage in residential buildings as a function of occupant and engineer observations. Indoor and Built environment 2005: 14: 133–140.
Naydenov K., Melikov A., Markov D., Stankov P., Bornehag C.-G., and Sundell J. A comparison between occupants’ and inspectors’ reports on home dampness and their association with the health of children: The ALLHOME study. Build Environ 2008: 43: 1840–1849.
Pekkanen J., Hyvärinen A., Haverinen-Shaughnessy U., Korppi M., Putus T., and Nevalainen A. Moisture damage and childhood asthma: a population-based incident case-control study. Eur Respir J 2007: 29: 509–515.
Williamson I.J., Martin C.J., McGill G., Monie R.D., and Fennerty A.G. Damp housing and asthma: a case-control study. Thorax 1997: 52: 229–234.
Acknowledgements
The assessment reported herein was performed as a part of the INTARESE project, co-funded by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme (project number 018385). It includes some work performed for the WHO project on quantifying disease from inadequate housing in Europe. I thank Ms. Hanna Richie Keller for performing the language check.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U. Prevalence of dampness and mold in European housing stock. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 22, 461–467 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.21
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.21
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Association of indoor dampness indicators with rheumatic diseases/symptoms in older adults: A comparative cross-sectional study in Chongqing and Beijing
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2024)
-
Creation and testing of the Domiscore—a tool to characterize the impact of housing on health and well-being
BMC Public Health (2023)
-
Indoor Fungal Exposure and Allergic Respiratory Disease
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports (2015)