Healthier homes could cut hospital stays for young children, researchers find

Almost 20 per cent of hospital admissions of young children with acute respiratory infections could be prevented if their houses were free from damp and mould, researchers have found.

The research, published in the international medical journal Thorax today, is the largest ever case-control study of the association between housing quality and hospital admissions for young children with acute respiratory infections.

Dr Tristram Ingram

Lead author, Dr Tristram Ingham, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Otago, Wellington, says reducing exposure to poor quality housing could cut the number of hospital admissions for the under-twos by 1,700 (19 per cent) a year.

In 2015, 9,003 under-two-year-olds were hospitalised in Wellington for acute respiratory infections out of an estimated population of 118,580, a rate per population of 7.6 per cent.

“If all housing was free from damp and mould, the country could save just under $8 million a year solely in hospital costs,” Dr Ingham says.

“Improving housing quality to prevent such hospitalisations is also highly desirable in terms of future costs, with poor housing quality in childhood associated with adverse health outcomes in adulthood.”

The researchers conducted the case-control study in two paediatric wards and five general practice clinics in Wellington during winter and spring seasons between 2011 and 2013. The quality of housing was assessed using the Respiratory Hazard Index (RHI), a 13-point scale of household quality factors including an eight-item damp/mould subscale.

The researchers studied 188 children who were admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infections and 454 control patients – those who saw their GP either with a respiratory illness which did not require hospitalisation or for a routine immunisation.

The children who became ill had significantly higher levels of dampness and mould in their homes, which could be addressed by a number of measures, including better heating, insulation and ventilation.

The research was part of a wider Whiti Te Rā Case-Control Study which examines the broader risk factors for hospitalisation for acute respiratory infection using a kaupapa Māori research framework.

Acute respiratory infections are a major cause of early childhood illness, and account for 50 per cent of consultations general practitioners have with children under five. Upper respiratory tract infections are the most common, but acute respiratory infections also include lower respiratory tract infections, such as bronchitis and bronchopneumonia.

Note for editors:

View the research paper, 'Damp mouldy housing and early childhood hospital admissions for acute respiratory infection: a case control study' which is published in the world leading respiratory medicine journal Thorax

For further information contact:

Dr Tristram Ingham
Senior Research Fellow
Department of Medicine
University of Otago, Wellington
Email tristram.ingham@otago.ac.nz

Cheryl Norrie
Communications Adviser
University of Otago, Wellington
Mob +64 21 249 6787
Email cheryl.norrie@otago.ac.nz