Mold and Asthma in Kids-News or More of the Same?

[hausdok]

Newswise — Visible mold exposure early in life may be a strong risk factor for early asthma development, but exposure to mold components with no visible mold present may have an opposite effect according to a study published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

Investigators from the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study (CCAAPS) found children at age 3 years with high visible mold in the home during infancy, evaluated through home inspection, were 7 times more likely to have a positive Asthma Predictive Index (API) criteria. In contrast, those with exposure to fungal components Рor (1-3)-̢-D-Glucan, a measure of biologically active exposure Рwere at a decreased risk. The study included a birth cohort of children born to atopic parents.

To read the entire article, click here.

[hausdok]

Dr. Fallah,

After reading this article, it looks like it's not really telling us anything that IAQ folks haven't been telling us for years about certain categories of folks being susceptible to mold issues. Does this article bring anything new to the table that home inspectors need to think about or is it just more hype meant to keep us all sufficiently spooked about the mold thing that we'll continue to push folks to get mold inspections and testing?

My curmudgeon mind wants to know.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike