| 1. |
- Cai, Jiao, et al.
(författare)
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Household dampness-related exposures in relation to childhood asthma and rhinitis in China : A multicentre observational study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 126, s. 735-746
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During 2010-2012, we conducted an observational study on household environment and health outcomes among 40,010 preschool children from seven cities of China. Here we examined associations of six dampness-related indicators (visible mold spots, visible damp stains, damp clothing and/or bedding, water damage, condensation on windowpane, moldy odor) in the current residence and three dampness-related indicators (visible mold spots, condensation on windowpane, moldy odor) in the early residence with childhood asthma and rhinitis. In the multi-level logistic regression analyses, visible mold spots and visible damp stains in the current residence were significantly associated with the increased odds of doctor-diagnosed asthma and allergic rhinitis during lifetime-ever (adjusted odd ratios (AORs) range: 1.18-1.35). All dampness-related indicators were significantly associated with increased odds of wheeze and rhinitis during lifetime-ever and in the past 12 months (AORs range: 1.16-2.64). The cumulative numbers of damp indicators had positively dose-response relationships with the increased odds of the studied diseases. These associations for wheeze and rhinitis were similar between northern children and southern children. Similar results were found in the sensitive analyses among children without a family history of allergies and among children without asthma and allergic rhinitis. For 3-6 years-old children in mainland of China in 2011, we speculated that about 90,000 (2.02%) children with asthma and about 59,000 (1.09%) children with allergic rhinitis could be attributable to exposing to visible mold spots in the current residence. Our results suggested that early and lifetime exposures to household dampness indicators are risk factors for childhood asthma and rhinitis.
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| 2. |
- Du, Chenqiu, et al.
(författare)
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Grey image recognition-based mold growth assessment on the surface of typical building materials responding to dynamic thermal conditions
- 2023
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 243
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mold growth on building materials poses a threat to both the building structural integrity and occupants' well-being. However, it is generally studied under suitable conditions in laboratory; the assessment is based on visual inspection but lacks an objective criterion. This research explored the effects of simulated dynamic thermal conditions on mold growth on three typical building materials artificially contaminated with Aspergillus niger spores. Test specimens were assessed based on a developed digital image-based method, where image seg-mentation, processing, and greyscale recognition via the OpenCV visual library were introduced. The results showed that the high temperature-high humidity condition in a 24-h cyclic change facilitated mold growth on the surfaces of three materials, especially for gypsum board, with an identified area proportion of 1.13% on the 80th day. This was consistent with the changes of the counted number of mold colonies, and no significant differences were found among the gypsum board, latex paint, and wallpaper. The growth extents of mold spores were objectively evaluated by the mean greyscale values; the values decreased gradually with time, and the decrements were different compared high-temperature to low-temperature conditions. The mold growth models were developed, where the area proportion of mold growth was linearly related to the counted colonies and greyscale values under different material surfaces. This novel grey image recognition-based method provides an accurate means of evaluating mold growth abilities and extents, overcoming the inaccuracy of visual observa-tion. The findings have significant implications for visual inspection, mold prediction, and building management.
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| 3. |
- Du, Chenqiu, et al.
(författare)
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Home dampness/mold(D/M) improvement in children's residences over the past decade in China-a comparison of repeated surveys in 2010 and 2019
- 2021
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is mounting evidence that exposure to household dampness/mold (D/M) is the cause of respiratory, allergic diseases for children. While few research focuses on the effects caused by building environment changes, from a longitudinal investigation perspective, especially for China experiencing a rapid development in recent years. This study aimed to explore the changes of D/M in Chinese homes over the past 10 years and identify the impacts of climate, building energy efficiency and residents' behaviors. The cross-sectional surveys were repeatedly conducted in children' residences in 2010 (Period I) and 2019 (Period II), among Taiyuan, Urumqi in northern China, and Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing in southern China. Finally, 23465 children in Period I and 34720 children in Period II were involved, with no changes of residences since birth. The results showed that the proportions for reported D/M indicators were significantly reduced in Period II: e.g., 93.8% and 84.1% residents respectively answered no visible mold spots and damp stains in current residences, compared to only 78.3% and 62.2% in Period I. Southern homes accounted for high proportions for D/M indicator occurrences; warm-humid climate, annual higher precipitation and lower sunshine hours, etc., exacerbated the indoor D/M exposure risks. While residents' behaviors like ventilation, airing quilt/beddings, regular cleaning ameliorated the reported D/M significantly. The findings, from a temporal and spacious dimension perspective, advance our understanding of indoor D/M changes, precisely improvement in children' homes over the past 10 years, benefiting to promote indoor air quality standards in China.
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| 4. |
- Yu, Wei, et al.
(författare)
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Increased risk of respiratory and allergic diseases in preschoolers from building envelope dampness exposure : Repeated cross-sectional surveys in multicity China
- 2023
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Building envelope dampness exposure is correlated with children's respiratory and allergic diseases. However, little research has compared the variation in the health impact of dampness exposure across multiple cities from a longitudinal perspective. A cross-sectional survey and a repeated one were conducted in children's residences in six cities: Chongqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha and Taiyuan, China, in 2010 (Phase I) and 2019 (Phase II). We selected 17,810 preschoolers during Phase I and 26,001 preschoolers during Phase II aged 3-6 years without changing residence since birth in the study. The proportion of residences with building envelope dampness exposure and the prevalence of respiratory and allergic diseases, except allergic rhinitis, in preschoolers significantly declined from Phase I to Phase II. Dampness exposure increased the risk for most childhood respiratory diseases in Phase II, with a 34% greater risk of lifetime-ever asthma in early residences and a 36% greater risk of current eczema in current residences. Most diseases showed a significantly positive exposureresponse relationship to the cumulative period of building envelope dampness exposure (p < 0.05). The risk of developing current eczema was approximately 1.35 and 1.73 times higher in children exposed to both early and current dampness in Phase I and Phase II, respectively, than in children who had never been exposed. These findings provide new insights into the respiratory and allergic diseases in Chinese preschoolers because of building envelope dampness exposure over the last decade. The increased risk in Phase II raises concerns about the household's dampness environment.
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