Higher Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) Values Measured in Homes of Asthmatic Children in Boston, Kansas City, and San Diego

Overview

Journal J Asthma

Publisher Informa Healthcare

Specialties Allergy & Immunology
Pulmonary Medicine

Date 2012 Nov 10

PMID 23137280

Citations 16

Authors

Stephen Vesper

Charles Barnes

Christina E Ciaccio

Alan Johanns

Kevin Kennedy

Johnna S Murphy

Arcela Nunez-Alvarez

Megan T Sandel

David Cox

Gary Dewalt

Peter J Ashley

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Mold in water-damaged homes has been linked to asthma. Our objective was to test a new metric to quantify mold exposures in asthmatic children's homes in three widely dispersed cities in the United States.

Methods: The Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) metric was created by the US Environmental Protection Agency, with assistance by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to quantify mold contamination in US homes. The ERMI values in homes of asthmatic children were determined for the three widely dispersed cities of Boston, Kansas City, and San Diego.

Results: Asthmatic children in Boston (n = 76), Kansas City (n = 60), and San Diego (n = 93) were found to be living in homes with significantly higher ERMI values than were found in homes randomly selected during the 2006 HUD American Healthy Homes Survey (AHHS) from the same geographic areas (n = 34, 22, and 28, respectively). Taken together, the average ERMI value in the homes with an asthmatic child was 8.73 compared to 3.87 for the AHHS homes. In addition, Kansas City homes of children with "Mild, Moderate, or Severe Persistent Asthma" had average ERMI value of 12.4 compared to 7.9 for homes of children with only "Mild Intermittent Asthma." Aspergillus niger was the only mold of the 36 tested which was measured in significantly greater concentration in the homes of asthmatic children in all three cities.

Conclusion: High ERMI values were associated with homes of asthmatic children in three widely dispersed cities in the United States.

Citing Articles

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Season, Vegetation Proximity and Building Age Shape the Indoor Fungal Communities' Composition at City-Scale.

Niculita-Hirzel H, Wild P, Hirzel A J Fungi (Basel). 2022; 8(10).

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Environmental Factors Shaping the Diversity and Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Indoor and Outdoor Culturable Airborne Fungal Communities in Tianjin University Campus, Tianjin, China.

Yuan C, Wang X, Pecoraro L Front Microbiol. 2022; 13:928921.

PMID: 35774467 PMC: 9237511. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.928921.

Household mold exposure interacts with inflammation-related genetic variants on childhood asthma: a case-control study.

Zhang Y, Hua L, Liu Q, Chu S, Gan Y, Wu M BMC Pulm Med. 2021; 21(1):114.

PMID: 33810791 PMC: 8019181. DOI: 10.1186/s12890-021-01484-9.

Indoor Microbial Exposures and Chronic Lung Disease: From Microbial Toxins to the Microbiome.

Wolf M, Lai P Clin Chest Med. 2020; 41(4):777-796.

PMID: 33153695 PMC: 8589104. DOI: 10.1016/j.ccm.2020.08.005.

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