Mold: Health Effects
Page 14
Scientific evidence links mold and other factors related to
damp conditions in homes and buildings to asthma symptoms in some people with
the chronic disorder, as well as to coughing, wheezing, and upper respiratory
tract symptoms in otherwise healthy people, says a report from the Institute of
Medicine of the National Academies in 2004. An uncommon ailment known as
hypersensitivity pneumonitis also is associated with indoor mold exposure in
genetically susceptible people. Damp conditions and all they entail may be
associated with the onset of asthma, as well as shortness of breath and lower
respiratory illness in otherwise healthy children, although the evidence is less
certain in these circumstances. Likewise, the presence of visible mold indoors
may be linked to lower respiratory tract illness in children, but the evidence
is not as strong in this case.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human
Services, in a July 18, 2002 report to a US House of Representatives
subcommittee reported that there were significant relationships between reports
of work-related respiratory disease and visual assessment of water and
mold-damage. They also reported that there were significant relationships
between endotoxin and ultra-fine particles in air and work-related respiratory
symptoms. And they reported that there were significant relationships between
indicators of mold in chair and floor dust and work-related respiratory
symptoms. This indicates an association between mold and health effects.
Studies have not shown that there is a measurable effect in the body to exposure
to mold. This can mean that there is not a cause and effect relationship, or it
may be that we have not done enough studies to document the effect, or that we
have not used procedures that allow the effect to be shown.
Therefore, people will argue both sides of whether health symptoms are related
mold exposure. Even though specific symptoms may not be able to be clearly
proven to come from mold exposure, there is consensus that it is not healthy to
live or work in a moldy environment.