Lessons for inhabitants living in damp tropical buildings Health Impacts The of Damp Housing Conditions Lessons for inhabitants living in damp tropical buildings Presenter Kofi Agyekum ICIDA Conference 2017

A deadly but persistent building defect Findings Presentation Outline Introduction A deadly but persistent building defect Methodology Conclusions Prevalence in Ghana By: Kofi Agyekum

Aim Introduction To examine the impact of damp housing conditions on the health of occupants, and presents lessons from such studies to those living in tropical buildings (the case of Ghana) with similar conditions Substandard housing contributes to indoor air quality problems and results in adverse health conditions like asthma, tuberculosis, and poor mental health (Udofia et al., 2014; Kreiger and Higgins, 2002) Housing characteristics, community and neighbourhood environments have the potential to affect human health (Udofia et al., 2014; Egan et al., 2010) Adequate housing is expected to provide shelter from climatic conditions, security, environmental nuisances, etc. (Udofia et al., 2014; Lawrence, 2006) One of the major building defects which affects the indoor air quality of buildings is the presence of excessive moisture which give rise to dampness Indoor air quality is an important issue for occupational and public health (Maxim, 2013) ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017

Methodology Two-stage Methodology Journals Considered Selection Criteria Methodology Thorax Indoor Air Microbiome Ghana Medical Journal African Health Sciences Pediatrics; Acta Paediatrics BMC Public Health Journal Indoor and Built Environment European Respiratory Journal International Journal of Tuberculosis Lung Disorders European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Journals High ranking journals in indoor and environmental health issues Papers Relevant articles cited 50 or more times per google scholar citation Identifying the relevant literature material Reviewing the relevant literature ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017

Possible Health Problem Study that Mentioned the Health Problem Key Findings   Moisture-Related Possible Health Problem Study that Mentioned the Health Problem Norbäck et al. (2000) Bornehag et al. (2001) Kilpeläinen et al. (2001) et al. (2002) Maritta Bhola and Subratty (2003) et al. (2004) Park Emenius et al. (2005) Simoni Pekkanen et al. (2007) Karvonen et al. (2009) et al. (2010) Fisk Ayanbimpe et al. (2010) et al. (2011) Tischer et al. (2013) Han EPA (2013) Mudarri (2016) Respiratory Symptoms Asthma X Bronchitis Cough Wheeze Sneeze Common colds Airway infections Bacteria respiratory inf. Aller. Symp. Allergic rhinitis Allergic conjunctivitis Irritated eyes Derma.Symp. Atopic dermatitis Eczema Fungal presence Mental Symptoms Headache Mental fatigue Nervousness Forgetfulness Tiredness ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017

Prevalence of Health Issues in Ghana Malaria, typhoid, skin infections, respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis and measles (Udofia et al., 2014) Could dampness have led to these problems? Could dampness have led to these problems? The results from their study provided further evidence of housing as a determinant of occupants’ health, and identified housing characteristics and living conditions as issues for public health action in Ghana (Udofia et al., 2014) Few studies have been conducted on some respiratory health issues but there are no clear evidences of their linkages to the affected living in damp and mouldy buildings (Udofia et al., 2014; Asamoah et al., 2012) Not much is known Accra ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017

ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017 There are many health issues associated with living in damp housing conditions Conclusion 02 Exposure to damp conditions could trigger a number of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, as well as skin diseases asthma, wheeze, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, headache, eczema, bronchitis, cough at night ICIDA 2017 | K. Agyekum | © GpSlides 2017

Though there may not be adequate scientific evidence to support the fact that dampness affects the health of occupants, there is also no indication that living in a damp building improves health. Hence, even if it is a great challenge to science to explain the associations, it is practically advised that occupants should avoid damp buildings ‘ ’ (Bornehag et al., 2001, pp. 83)

End of presentation Thank you