The Association between Residence Floor Level and Cardiovascular Disease: The Health and Environment in Oslo Study

Abstract

Background. Increasingly more people live in tall buildings and on higher floor levels. Factors relating to floor level may protect against or cause cardiovascular disease (CVD). Only one previous study has investigated the association between floor level and CVD. Methods. We studied associations between floor of bedroom and self-reported history of stroke, venous thromboembolism (VTE), and intermittent claudication (IC) among 12.525 inhabitants in Oslo, Norway. We fitted multivariate logistic regression models and adjusted for sociodemographic variables, socioeconomic status (SES), and health behaviors. Additionally, we investigated block apartment residents (N = 5.374) separately. Results. Trend analyses showed that disease prevalence increased by floor level, for all three outcomes. When we investigated block apartment residents alone, the trends disappeared, but one association remained: higher odds of VTE history on 6th floor or higher, compared to basement and 1st floor (OR: 1.504; 95% CI: 1.007–2.247). Conclusion. Floor level is positively associated with CVD, in Oslo. The best-supported explanation may be residual confounding by building height and SES. Another explanation, about the impact of atmospheric electricity, is also presented. The results underline a need to better understand the associations between residence floor level and CVD and multistory housing and CVD.

Evaluation of Lung Functional Status among People Living in Different Type of Housing in Chennai City

“…Apart from these disadvantages, high rise apartment residents have a lot of health benefits such as better respiratory health [10]. It is reported that higher the floor of residence, the lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases [11] [12]. Some of the perceived benefits of high rise buildings are unobstructed scenery, clean air, less noise, privacy and light [13].…”