Abstractpossibility that damp housing may adversely affect health and, in particular, predispose to Background -Several epidemiological studies have reported a higher prevalence respiratory symptoms has been the focus of several recent cross-sectional epidemiological of respiratory symptoms in subjects living in damp housing, but links with specific studies. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] All reported a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms, especially wheeze, in respiratory diseases such as asthma have not been satisfactorily established.subjects living in damp housing, but links with specific respiratory diseases such as asthma Methods -One hundred and two subjects with physician diagnosed asthma and 196 could not be satisfactorily established. A few studies of case-control design do, however, sugage and sex matched controls were interviewed; 222 (75%) then agreed to have gest that asthmatic subjects are more likely to live in homes with evidence of dampness with their dwelling surveyed for dampness. The prevalence of both self-reported and ob-the highest odds ratios for children sleeping in damp bedrooms. 14-16served dampness in the homes of the asthmatic subjects and controls were comSeveral biologically plausible mechanisms could account for such an association. Asthpared. Both asthma and the severity of the dampness were quantified so that the matic subjects are frequently allergic to house dust mite (HDM) and moulds, both of which possibility of a dose-response relationship could be investigated.are found in greater numbers in damp dwellings. [17][18][19][20] As higher levels of exposure to HDM Results -Asthmatic subjects reported dampness in their current (odds ratio allergen are known to increase asthma severity, 12 it is theoretically possible for damp housing to (OR) 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18 to 3.12) and previous (OR 2.11, 95% influence the severity of asthma adversely. No such relationship has yet been demonstrated. CI 1.29 to 3.47) dwellings more frequently than control subjects. The surveyor conEstablishing a link between asthma and damp housing is by no means straightforward. firmed dampness in 58 of 90 (64%) dwellings of asthmatic subjects compared with The design of such a study has to eliminate many areas of potential bias. If information 54 of 132 (41%) dwellings of control subjects (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.50 to 4.55). This on health and measures of dampness in the dwelling is obtained from the same quesassociation persisted after controlling for socioeconomic and other confounding tionnaire, reporting or recall bias may occur with the potential for subjects in damp dwellvariables (adjusted OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.65 to 5.57). The severity of asthma was found ings to over-report or exaggerate the severity of the symptoms. [21][22][23] This has been a particular to correlate statistically with measures of total dampness (r=0.30, p=0.006) and criticism of many of the previous studies and it is universally agreed that objective measmould growth (r=0.23, p=0.035) in the dwelling. Patients...

Abstract. Measurements of temporal and spatial changes to indoor contaminant concentrations are vital to understanding pollution characteristics. Whilst scientific instruments provide high temporal resolution of indoor pollutants, their cost and complexity make them unfeasible for large-scale projects. Low-cost monitors offer an opportunity to collect high-density temporal and spatial data in a broader range of households. This paper presents a user study to assess the precision, accuracy, and usability of a low-cost indoor air quality monitor in a residential environment to collect data about the indoor pollution. Temperature, relative humidity, total volatile organic compounds (tVOC), carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) data were measured with five low-cost (“Foobot”) monitors and were compared with data from other monitors reported to be scientifically validated. The study found a significant agreement between the instruments with regard to temperature, relative humidity, total volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter data. Foobot CO2 equivalent was found to provide misleading CO2 levels as indicators of ventilation. Calibration equations were derived for tVOC, CO2, and PM2.5 to improve sensors' accuracy. The data were analysed based on the percentage of time pollutant levels that exceeded WHO thresholds. The performance of low-cost monitors to measure total volatile organic compounds and particulate matter 2.5 µm has not been properly addressed. The findings suggest that Foobot is sufficiently accurate for identifying high pollutant exposures with potential health risks and for providing data at high granularity and good potential for user or scientific applications due to remote data retrieval. It may also be well suited to remote and larger-scale studies in quantifying exposure to pollutants.

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Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a critical consideration in airtight buildings that depend on mechanical ventilation, such as those constructed to the Passivhaus standard. While previous reviews of IAQ on Passivhaus-certified buildings foccused on offices, this study examines residential buildings. A summary of data collection methods and pollutant concentrations is presented, followed by a critical discussion of the impact of Passivhaus design strategies on IAQ. This review indicates that IAQ in Passivhaus-certified dwellings is generally better than in conventional homes, but both occupant behaviour and pollution from outdoor sources play a significant role in indoor concentrations. Moreover, there are differences in data collection and reporting methods. Many of the available studies depend on short-term IAQ monitoring of less than two weeks, making it difficult to determine the longer impact of housing design on IAQ and occupants’ well-being. There is also a lack of studies from non-European countries. Future research should focus on investigating associations between IAQ and Passivhaus design strategies in hot and humid climates, where evidence is particularly lacking. Further effort is also required to investigate potential links between occupant’s perception of IAQ and physical exposure to indoor pollution. Finally, the lack of homogeneous monitoring and reporting methods for IAQ studies needs to be addressed.

The absence of an increased incidence of asthma and COPD has been noted in several countries that have described the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19. 13 Globally, China has the highest burden of COPD, yet in a pooled analysis of 45 000 patients with COVID-19, fewer than 2% had a respiratory illness. 13 In early reports from Wuhan Province, China, only 1•1% of people with COVID-19 were noted to have COPD, while asthma was not even reported in this report. 14 These observations for ICS-while certainly not forming a complete picture-should not be ignored, especially since one would expect patients with pre-existing, serious lung conditions to be over-represented, not underrepresented, among those with COVID-19 disease.Whether use of ICS protects against COVID-19 is still unknown, but to dismiss this hypothesis as nonsense is premature. ICS as a therapeutic intervention still need to studied and clinical trials assessing their efficacy in COVID-19 are ongoing in various clinical settings, the results of which are eagerly awaited (