Table 5.
Home/family characteristics as univariate predictors of bacterial levels in air samples. Concentrations have been pooled from all three size ranges. Significant associations (P < 0.05) are shown in boldface and underlined
| Home characteristics | n c | Air concentration (cell eq./m3) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) | ||||
| S. maltophilia | Streptomyces | Mycobacterium | ||
| Direct factors/sources | ||||
| Number of inhabitantsa | ||||
| ≤ 3 | 8 | 1046 (1.8) | 70 (3.7) | 1482 (2.8) |
| 4 | 13 | 723 (1.4) | 37 (2.2) | 1334 (1.5) |
| ≥ 5 | 17 | 833 (1.4) | 54 (2.1) | 2189 (1.8) |
| P | 0.95 | 0.55 | 0.01 | |
| Presence of dogsb | ||||
| No | 21 | 791 (1.5) | 47 (2.3) | 1438 (1.6) |
| Yes | 17 | 889 (1.6) | 54 (2.7) | 2097 (2.3) |
| P | 0.41 | 0.84 | 0.17 | |
| Indirect factors/sources | ||||
| Reported water damageb | ||||
| No | 14 | 874 (1.6) | 38 (2.1) | 1663 (1.9) |
| Yes | 24 | 810 (1.5) | 59 (2.6) | 1726 (2.1) |
| P | 0.61 | 0.35 | 0.88 | |
| Reported visible moldb | ||||
| No | 17 | 753 (1.7) | 49 (2.4) | 1502 (1.9) |
| Yes | 21 | 904 (1.3) | 51 (2.5) | 1884 (2.1) |
| P | 0.22 | 0.81 | 0.33 | |
| Relative humidity (%)a | ||||
| 21.0–30.4 | 14 | 806 (1.5) | 40 (2.1) | 1636 (1.8) |
| 30.5–40.9 | 13 | 922 (1.7) | 63 (2.8) | 1879 (2.2) |
| 41.0–57.3 | 11 | 771 (1.4) | 51 (2.6) | 1593 (2.1) |
| P | 0.97 | 0.56 | 0.90 | |
| Temperature (°C) a | ||||
| 13.0–21.8 | 15 | 935 (1.5) | 47 (2.6) | 2188 (1.9) |
| 21.9–25.0 | 12 | 723 (1.6) | 50 (2.1) | 1517 (2.1) |
| 25.1–27.8 | 11 | 831 (1.6) | 56 (2.9) | 1371 (1.9) |
| P | 0.60 | 0.41 | 0.18 | |
| Surface moistureb | ||||
| Air‐dry | 30 | 796 (1.5) | 50 (2.3) | 1676 (1.9) |
| Borderline damp | 5 | 1171 (1.8) | 73 (3.4) | 2570 (2.1) |
| P | 0.07 | 0.39 | 0.19 | |
| General home characteristics | ||||
| Flooring typeb | ||||
| Hard surface | 6 | 1119 (1.7) | 53 (2.8) | 2451 (1.8) |
| Carpet/rug | 32 | 788 (1.5) | 50 (2.4) | 1590 (2.0) |
| P | 0.07 | 0.99 | 0.17 | |
| Age of home (year) a | ||||
| > 77 | 11 | 890 (1.6) | 81 (2.6) | 2241 (1.9) |
| 35–77 | 12 | 816 (1.6) | 44 (2.2) | 1519 (2.2) |
| < 35 | 13 | 836 (1.5) | 42 (2.4) | 1666 (1.8) |
| P | 0.63 | 0.12 | 0.23 | |
Covariates that were significant at the 20% level in these univariate regression models were included in the initial multivariate model.
Linearly modeled variable. For this table, categorized into approximate tertiles.
Categorical variable.
Information on some home characteristics was missing, and therefore, n does not add up to 38.
This article is being made freely available through PubMed Central as part of the COVID-19 public health emergency response. It can be used for unrestricted research re-use and analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source, for the duration of the public health emergency.