title: Poor housing conditions in association with child health in a disadvantaged immigrant population: a cross-sectional study in Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden.
abstract: To describe the home environment in terms of housing conditions and their association with child health in a disadvantaged immigrant population.
  
  
  
  A cross-sectional observational study.
  
  
  
  Enrolment took place during 2010-2011 in Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden.
  
  
  
  Children aged 0-13 years in 2 study neighbourhoods were recruited from local health records and from schools. 359 children participated, with a participation rate of 40%. Data on health, lifestyle and apartment characteristics from questionnaire-led interviews with the mothers of the children were obtained together with data from home inspections carried out by trained health communicators.
  
  
  
  Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate ORs for various health outcomes, adjusted for demographic information and lifestyle factors.
  
  
  
  The housing conditions were very poor, especially in one of the study neighbourhoods where 67% of the apartments had been sanitised of cockroaches, 27% were infested with cockroaches and 40% had a visible mould. The association between housing conditions and health was mostly inconclusive, but there were statistically significant associations between current asthma and dampness (OR=4.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 9.9), between asthma medication and dampness (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.4), and between mould and headache (OR=4.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 14.8). The presence of cockroaches was associated with emergency care visits, with colds, with headache and with difficulty falling asleep, and worse general health was associated with mould and presence of cockroaches.
  
  
  
  The associations between dampness and asthma, and the association between mould and headache, are in line with current knowledge. The presence of cockroaches seemed to be associated with various outcomes, including those related to mental well-being, which is less described in the literature. The results of the present study are hypothesis generating and provide strong incentives for future studies in this study population.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9876-0627
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oudin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jens C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tahir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taj
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Al-Nahar
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jakobsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003058:Cockroaches; D003139:Common Cold / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D005658:Fungi; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology; D006798:Housing / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; PUBLIC HEALTH; RESPIRATORY MEDICINE (see Thoracic Medicine); SOCIAL MEDICINE