Mold, Damp Can Cause Breathing Trouble

Mold and dampness can cause coughing and wheezing, but there is no evidence linking so-called toxic mold to cancer, fatigue or neurological problems, U.S. health specialists said.

People with asthma are the most susceptible to mold but even completely healthy people may develop mild respiratory symptoms if they are exposed, the Institute of Medicine panel found.

More research is needed to find out just how mold may affect people, they said. Meanwhile, homeowners, builders, architects and developers should focus on designing buildings that stay as dry as possible.

"If you have visible mold it should be cleaned up or removed from the building," said panel member William Fisk of the Indoor Environment Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

The institute, an independent nonprofit body that advises the federal government, was asked to look into the matter by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It appointed a panel led by Noreen Clark, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, and including toxicologists, epidemiologists and pediatricians.

"The committee found sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to damp indoor environments and ... upper respiratory tract (nasal and throat) symptoms, cough, wheeze, and asthma symptoms in sensitized asthmatic persons," the report reads.

Studies also show that mold can cause an immune condition called hypersensitivity pneumonitis in susceptible people.

EXHAUSTIVE REVIEW

Some limited evidence suggested dampness could cause shortness of breath and respiratory illness in otherwise healthy children, and the development of asthma in susceptible persons, the report said.

This could be due to mold, fungi, bacteria, dust mites or even cockroaches, the report said.

But there is no hard evidence to show dampness or mold could cause other ills including a serious condition called acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in infants.

"Because there is a dearth of studies available on these topics, the committee wasn't able to rule out a possible association," Clark told a news conference.

News reports have said "toxic mold" could cause serious illnesses including debilitating fatigue, neuropsychiatric disorders, cancer and reproductive problems.

Clark said the panel did not address the issue of whether "toxic mold" exists but suggested such issues could be better communicated to the general public.

"There are certain molds that can produce toxic agents under certain conditions at a certain point of their life cycle that no doubt occurs at some point in buildings," said Fisk.

He said no one knows if these toxins can affect people.

Reports have focused on families who complained of serious problems that stopped days after they left a moldy house, only to return when they moved back in.

Clark said such reports are useless to a scientific panel.

"One can't use anecdotal data or individual cases to determine the extent to which a problem exists or doesn't exist for a population of people," she said.

Reference Source 89

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