Environmental Conditions in Low-Income Urban Housing: Clustering and Associations With Self-Reported Health.

POVERTY areas; ANIMALS; ASTHMA; CARCINOGENS; CHI-squared test; CLUSTER analysis (Statistics); CONFIDENCE intervals; FUNGI; HOUSING; INSECTS; INTERVIEWING; LEAD poisoning; LONGITUDINAL method; METROPOLITAN areas; MICE; PASSIVE smoking; POLLUTANTS; POVERTY; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH funding; RESPIRATORY diseases; STATISTICAL sampling; SELF-evaluation; SMOKING; VENTILATION; ENVIRONMENTAL exposure; MULTIPLE regression analysis; CROSS-sectional method; DATA analysis software; ODDS ratio

Objectives. We explored prevalence and clustering of key environmental conditions in low-income housing and associations with self-reported health. Methods. The Health in Common Study, conducted between 2005 and 2009, recruited participants (n = 828) from 20 low-income housing developments in the Boston area. We interviewed 1 participant per household and conducted a brief inspection of the unit (apartment). We created binary indexes and a summed index for household exposures: mold, combustion by-products, secondhand smoke, chemicals, pests, and inadequate ventilation. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the associations between each index and household characteristics and between each index and self-reported health. Results. Environmental problems were common; more than half of homes had 3 or more exposure-related problems (median summed index = 3). After adjustment for household-level demographics, we found clustering of problems in site (P< .01) for pests, combustion byproducts, mold, and ventilation. Higher summed index values were associated with higher adjusted odds of reporting fair-poor health (odds ratio = 2.7 for highest category; P< .008 for trend). Conclusions. We found evidence that indoor environmental conditions in multifamily housing cluster by site and that cumulative exposures may be associated with poor health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of American Journal of Public Health is the property of American Public Health Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)