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Maritta S. Jaakkola,¹ Henrik Nordman,¹ Ritva Piipari,¹ Jukka Uitti,² Jukka Laitinen,³ Antti Karjalainen,¹ Paula Hahtola,⁴ and Jouni J.K. Jaakkola^5,6

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, ¹Helsinki and ²Tampere, Finland; Departments of ³Clinical Physiology and ⁴Pulmonary Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland; ⁵Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; ⁶Environmental Health Program, Nordic School of Public Health, Göteborg, Sweden

Abstract

Previous cross-sectional and prevalent case-control studies have suggested increased risk of asthma in adults related to dampness problems and molds in homes. We conducted a population-based incident case-control study to assess the effects of indoor dampness problems and molds at work and at home on development of asthma in adults. We recruited systematically all new cases of asthma during a 2.5-year study period (1997-2000) and randomly selected controls from a source population consisting of adults 21-63 years old living in the Pirkanmaa Hospital district, South Finland. The clinically diagnosed case series consisted of 521 adults with newly diagnosed asthma and the control series of 932 controls, after we excluded 76 (7.5%) controls with a history of asthma. In logistic regression analysis adjusting for confounders, the risk of asthma was related to the presence of visible mold and/or mold odor in the workplace (odds ratio, 1.54 ; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.32) but not to water damage or damp stains alone. We estimated the fraction of asthma attributable to workplace mold exposure to be 35.1% (95% confidence interval, 1.0-56.9%) among the exposed. Present results provide new evidence of the relation between workplace exposure to indoor molds and adult-onset asthma. Key words: asthma, case-control study, molds, occupational exposure, population-based. Environ Health Perspect 110:543-547 (2002) . [Online 4 April 2002]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110p543-547jaakkola/ abstract.html

Address correspondence to M.S. Jaakkola, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 aA, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland. Telephone: 358-9-4747-2249. Fax: 358-9-4747-2009. E-mail: Maritta.Jaakkola@occuphealth.fi

We thank our research nurses L. Yrjänheikki, M. Soukkanen, and M. Aalto and all the health care workers who participated in recruiting study subjects at the Tampere University Hospital, health care centers, private practices, and the National Social Insurance Institution of Finland.

This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland and the Finnish Work Environment Fund.

Received 24 October 2001 ; accepted 10 December 2001.