Cargando…
Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population
The impact of residential dampness or mold on respiratory health is well established but few studies have focused on university students. This study aims to: (a) describe the prevalence of exposure to residential dampness or mold in university students according to socio-geographic factors and (b) i...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2016
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772214/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26861364 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020194 |
_version_ | 1782418523776090112 |
---|---|
author | Lanthier-Veilleux, Mathieu Généreux, Mélissa Baron, Geneviève |
author_facet | Lanthier-Veilleux, Mathieu Généreux, Mélissa Baron, Geneviève |
author_sort | Lanthier-Veilleux, Mathieu |
collection | PubMed |
description | The impact of residential dampness or mold on respiratory health is well established but few studies have focused on university students. This study aims to: (a) describe the prevalence of exposure to residential dampness or mold in university students according to socio-geographic factors and (b) identify associated housing characteristics. A web survey was conducted in 2014 among the 26,676 students registered at the Université de Sherbrooke (QC, Canada). Residential dampness and mold being closely intertwined, they were considered as a single exposure and assessed using a validated questionnaire. Exposure was compared according to socio-geographic and housing characteristics using chi-square tests and logistic regressions. Among the 2097 participants included in the study (response rate: 8.1%), over 80% were tenants. Residential exposure to dampness or mold was frequent (36.0%, 95% CI: 33.9–38.1). Marked differences for this exposure were noted according to home ownership (39.7% vs. 25.5% among tenants and owners respectively; OR = 1.92%, 95% CI: 1.54–2.38). Campus affiliation, household composition and the number of residents per building were associated with exposure to dampness or mold (p < 0.01), while sex and age were not. Exposure was also associated with older buildings, and buildings in need of renovations and lacking proper ventilation (p < 0.001). This study highlights the potential risk of university students suffering from mold-related health effects given their frequent exposure to this agent. Further research is needed to fully evaluate the mold-related health impact in this at risk group. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4772214 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-47722142016-03-08 Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population Lanthier-Veilleux, Mathieu Généreux, Mélissa Baron, Geneviève Int J Environ Res Public Health Article The impact of residential dampness or mold on respiratory health is well established but few studies have focused on university students. This study aims to: (a) describe the prevalence of exposure to residential dampness or mold in university students according to socio-geographic factors and (b) identify associated housing characteristics. A web survey was conducted in 2014 among the 26,676 students registered at the Université de Sherbrooke (QC, Canada). Residential dampness and mold being closely intertwined, they were considered as a single exposure and assessed using a validated questionnaire. Exposure was compared according to socio-geographic and housing characteristics using chi-square tests and logistic regressions. Among the 2097 participants included in the study (response rate: 8.1%), over 80% were tenants. Residential exposure to dampness or mold was frequent (36.0%, 95% CI: 33.9–38.1). Marked differences for this exposure were noted according to home ownership (39.7% vs. 25.5% among tenants and owners respectively; OR = 1.92%, 95% CI: 1.54–2.38). Campus affiliation, household composition and the number of residents per building were associated with exposure to dampness or mold (p < 0.01), while sex and age were not. Exposure was also associated with older buildings, and buildings in need of renovations and lacking proper ventilation (p < 0.001). This study highlights the potential risk of university students suffering from mold-related health effects given their frequent exposure to this agent. Further research is needed to fully evaluate the mold-related health impact in this at risk group. MDPI 2016-02-05 2016-02 /pmc/articles/PMC4772214/ /pubmed/26861364 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020194 Text en © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Lanthier-Veilleux, Mathieu Généreux, Mélissa Baron, Geneviève Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title | Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title_full | Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title_fullStr | Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title_short | Prevalence of Residential Dampness and Mold Exposure in a University Student Population |
title_sort | prevalence of residential dampness and mold exposure in a university student population |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4772214/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26861364 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020194 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT lanthierveilleuxmathieu prevalenceofresidentialdampnessandmoldexposureinauniversitystudentpopulation AT genereuxmelissa prevalenceofresidentialdampnessandmoldexposureinauniversitystudentpopulation AT barongenevieve prevalenceofresidentialdampnessandmoldexposureinauniversitystudentpopulation |