Table 1 Comparison of residents in houses improved as an early intervention compared with those in houses deferred for improvement at start of study.
| Intervention | Control | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Houses | ||
| House type | n = 50 (%) | n = 69 (%) |
| Semi‐detached | 28 (56) | 33 (48) |
| Terrace | 14 (28) | 22 (32) |
| End terrace | 8 (16) | 14 (20) |
| Occupancy | n = 48 (%) | n = 63 (%) |
| Not overcrowded (<1 person/room) | 33 (69) | 49 (78) |
| Overcrowded (1–1.5 person/room) | 14 (29) | 13 (21) |
| Severe overcrowding (1.5+ person/room) | 1 (2) | 1(2) |
| Heating | n = 48 (%) | n = 63 (%) |
| Central heating downstairs | 30 (63) | 39 (62) |
| Central heating upstairs | 5 (10) | 5 (8) |
| Open fire downstairs | 8 (17) | 5 (8) |
| Gas fire downstairs | 35 (73) | 48 (76) |
| Temperature | n = 48 (%) | n = 65 (%) |
| Living room below 21°C | 43 (90) | 58 (89) |
| Bedroom below 18°C | 38 (79) | 49 (75) |
| Indoor air pollutant exposure | n = 49 (%) | n = 63 (%) |
| With pet | 34 (71) | 43 (68) |
| With smoker | 37 (77) | 42 (67) |
| Gas cooking | 33 (67) | 40 (64) |
| (b) Residents | ||
| Sex | n = 209 (%) | n = 272 (%) |
| Male | 104 (50) | 133 (49) |
| Female | 105 (50) | 139 (51) |
| Age (years) | n = 207 (%) | n = 269 (%) |
| 0–4 | 30 (15) | 26 (10) |
| 5–17 | 94 (45) | 109 (42) |
| 18–44 | 65 (31) | 80 (31) |
| 45–64 | 13 (6) | 35 (13) |
| 65+ | 5 (2) | 12 (5) |
| Employment | n = 82 (%) | n = 120 (%) |
| Unemployed | 41 (50) | 52 (43) |
| Smoking | n = 109 (%) | n = 136 (%) |
| Yes | 47 (43) | 55 (40) |
| Suffer from asthma | n = 207 (%) | n = 263 (%) |
| Yes | 58 (28) | 66 (25) |