title: Higher measured moisture in California homes with qualitative evidence of dampness.
abstract: Relationships between measured moisture and qualitative dampness indicators (mold odor, visible mold, visible water damage, or peeling paint) were evaluated using data collected from California homes in a prospective birth cohort study when the infants were 6 or 12 months of age (737 home visits). For repeated visits, agreement between observation of the presence/absence of each qualitative indicator at both visits was high (71-87%, P < 0.0001). Among individual indicators, musty odor and visible mold were most strongly correlated with elevated moisture readings. Measured moisture differed significantly between repeated visits in opposite seasons (P < 0.0001), and dampness increased with the number of indicators in a home. Linear mixed-effect models showed that 10-unit increases in maximum measured moisture were associated with the presence of 0.5 additional dampness indicators (P < 0.001). Bedroom (BR) walls were damper than living room (LR) walls in the same homes (P < 0.0001), although both average and maximum readings were positively correlated across room type (r = 0.75 and 0.67, respectively, both P < 0.0001). Exterior walls were significantly damper than interior walls (P < 0.0001 in both LRs and BRs), but no differences were observed between maximum wall readings and measurements at either window corners or sites of suspected dampness.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Laboratory Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Macher
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Laboratory Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7194-7654
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mendell
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Laboratory Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: N T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: Natividad Medical Center, Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), Salinas, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Harley
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eskenazi
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bradman
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D002140:California; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: Dampness; Dampness indicators; Measured moisture; Moisture location; Mold odor; Visible mold