IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aph/ajpbhl/10.2105-ajph.2006.093773_6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dampness and mold in the home and depression: An examination of mold-related illness and perceived control of one's home as possible depression pathways

Author

Listed:
  • Shenassa, E.D.
  • Daskalakis, C.
  • Liebhaber, A.
  • Braubach, M.
  • Brown, M.

Abstract

Objectives. We evaluated a previously reported association between residence in a damp and moldy dwelling and the risk of depression and investigated whether depression was mediated by perception of control over one's home or mold-related physical illness. Methods. We used survey data from 8 European cities. A dampness and mold score was created from resident- and inspector-reported data. Depression was assessed using a validated index of depressive symptoms. Results. Dampness or mold in the home was associated with depression (odds ratio [OR]=1.39, 1.44, and 1.34, for minimal, moderate, and extensive exposure, respectively, compared with no exposure). This association became attenuated when perception of control (OR=1.34, 1.40, and 1.24; global P=.069) or a physical health index (OR=1.32, 1.37, and 1.15; global P=.104) was included in the model. The mediation effects of perception of control over one's home and by physical health appeared to be additive. Conclusions. Dampness and mold were associated with depression, independent of individual and housing characteristics. This association was independently mediated by perception of control over one's home and by physical health.

Suggested Citation

  • Shenassa, E.D. & Daskalakis, C. & Liebhaber, A. & Braubach, M. & Brown, M., 2007. "Dampness and mold in the home and depression: An examination of mold-related illness and perceived control of one's home as possible depression pathways," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(10), pages 1893-1899.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2006.093773_6
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.093773
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2006.093773
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2105/AJPH.2006.093773?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rosemary Hiscock & Pierpaolo Mudu & Matthias Braubach & Marco Martuzzi & Laura Perez & Clive Sabel, 2014. "Wellbeing Impacts of City Policies for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-34, November.
    2. Hilary Graham & Piran White & Jacqui Cotton & Sally McManus, 2019. "Flood- and Weather-Damaged Homes and Mental Health: An Analysis Using England’s Mental Health Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Anna Ziersch & Moira Walsh & Clemence Due & Emily Duivesteyn, 2017. "Exploring the Relationship between Housing and Health for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in South Australia: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, September.
    4. Olivia Oxlade & Megan Murray, 2012. "Tuberculosis and Poverty: Why Are the Poor at Greater Risk in India?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(11), pages 1-8, November.
    5. Hee-Jung Jun & Soojeong Han, 2020. "The Effect of Discrimination on Stress among Public Housing Residents: A Comparative Study between Social-Mix and Independent Public Housing Complexes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Kahouli, Sondès, 2020. "An economic approach to the study of the relationship between housing hazards and health: The case of residential fuel poverty in France," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    7. Preval, Nick & Chapman, Ralph & Pierse, Nevil & Howden-Chapman, Philippa, 2010. "Evaluating energy, health and carbon co-benefits from improved domestic space heating: A randomised community trial," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 3965-3972, August.
    8. Nina Rautio & Svetlana Filatova & Heli Lehtiniemi & Jouko Miettunen, 2018. "Living environment and its relationship to depressive mood: A systematic review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(1), pages 92-103, February.
    9. Rebecca M. Schwartz & Stephanie Tuminello & Samantha M. Kerath & Janelle Rios & Wil Lieberman-Cribbin & Emanuela Taioli, 2018. "Preliminary Assessment of Hurricane Harvey Exposures and Mental Health Impact," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-9, May.
    10. Chang, Ling-Yin & Chiang, Tung-liang, 2022. "Family environment characteristics and sleep duration in children: Maternal mental health as a mediator," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2006.093773_6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Christopher F Baum (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.apha.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.