Study Questions Mold as Cause of Serious Health Problems

No link can be found between the presence of dampness and mold in homes and the variety of serious health problems being claimed in court cases, suggests a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies, commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A link was found between mold or excessive dampness in structures and the worsening of symptoms for those who already suffer asthma, as well as minor symptoms of coughing, wheezing and other upper respiratory tract symptoms. “However, the available evidence does not support an association between either indoor dampness or mold and the wide range of other health complaints that have been ascribed to them,” notes the report.

“An exhaustive review of the scientific literature made it clear to us that it can be very hard to tease apart the health effects of exposure to mold from all the other factors that may be influencing health in the typical indoor environment,” says Noreen Clark, chair of the committee that wrote the report.