Health-Related Costs of Dampness and Mold

Two papers were identified that have estimated the health related costs of dampness and mold in buildings and both consider only dampness and mold in homes within the United States. Mudarri and Fisk [1] estimated that 21% (range 12% to 29%) of current asthma in the U.S. was attributable to dampness and mold which corresponded in 2004 to 4.6 million (2.7 to 6.3 million) cases of current asthma. The associated annual cost was $3.5 billion (range $2.1 to $4.8 billion). In a more recent analysis Mudarri [2] estimated that dampness and mold in U.S. homes in the year 2014 cost $3.7 ($2.3 to $4.7) billion for allergic rhinitis, $1.9 ($1.1 to $2.3) billion for acute bronchitis, $15.1 ($9.4 to $20.6) billion for asthma morbidity, and $1.7 ($0.4 to $4.5) billion for asthma-caused mortality.

 

1.         Mudarri, D. and W.J. Fisk, Public health and economic impact of dampness and mold. Indoor Air, 2007. 17(3): p. 226-235. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2007.00474.x.

2.         Mudarri, D.H., Valuing the Economic Costs of Allergic Rhinitis, Acute Bronchitis, and Asthma from Exposure to Indoor Dampness and Mold in the US. J Environ Public Health, 2016. 2016: p. 2386596. https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2386596.