TABLE 1.

Exposure to moulds using qualitative metrics and asthma occurrence in children (longitudinal studies)

First author, location [ref.]	Study design	Mould exposure	Main outcomes	Results
Pekkanen, Finland [98]	Cases n=121 Controls n=242	Home inspection Visible dampness and mould	Children aged 1–7 years Doctor-diagnosed incident asthma	Main living quarters Dampness: yes versus no OR 2.24 (1.25–4.01) Moulds: yes versus no OR 2.59 (1.15–5.85)
Karvonen, Finland [99]	Cohort n=396	Home inspection Visible mould and humidity First 6 months of life	Mother's questionnaire at 2, 12 and 18 months	Visible mould: yes versus no Doctor-diagnosed wheezing Main living quarters aOR 3.92 (1.54–10) Child bedroom aOR 5.22 (1.48–18.35)
Schroer, USA [100]	Cohort (CCAPS) n=570	Home inspection Visible mould Mould odour First year of life	Parents’ ISAAC questionnaire Wheezing at 2 years Persistent wheezing at 1 and 2 years	Visible mould: yes versus no Wheezing at 2 years aOR 2.12 (1.25–3.60) Persistent wheezing aOR 2.47 (1.27–4.80)
Dales, Canada [101]	Cohort n=330	Home inspection Visible mould First year of life	Acute and upper respiratory events Birth to 2 years	Visible mould: yes versus no ns
Larsson, Sweden [102]	Cohort n=4779 children	Self-reported visible dampness and mould Reported mould odour At birth	Incident asthma at 6–8 years Parents’ questionnaire	Mould odour: OR 2.99 (1.50–5.94)
Hwang, Taiwan [103]	1–7 years Cases n=188 Controls n=376	Self-reported mould or mould odour between birth and 1 year	Reported doctor- diagnosed incident asthma 6 years later	Visible mould: yes versus no aOR 1.76 (1.18–2.62) Mould odour: yes versus no aOR 2.09 (1.30–3.37) Moulds + parent atopy aOR 5.10 (2.80–9.31) Odour + parent atopy aOR 4.11 (2.22–7.64)
Hwang, Taiwan [21]	1–7 years Cases n=188 Controls n=376	Self-reported mould or mould odour between birth and 1 year	Reported doctor- diagnosed incident asthma 6 years later + polymorphisms of interleukin-4 promoter	Visible mould: yes versus no CT versus TT polymorphism: OR 2.14 (1.05–4.34)
Zhou, France [23]	Cohort n=1765	Self-reported humidity or moulds First year of life	ISAAC questionnaire 0–4, 4–8 and 8–12 months	Humidity and diagnosed asthma + wheeze aOR 2.21 (1.04–4.71) Wheeze aOR 2.12 (1.30–3.46) Diagnosed life-time asthma aOR 2.19 (1.06–4.53)
Wen, Taiwan [24]	Cohort n=19 192	Visible mould during pregnancy Health questionnaire at 0.5, 1.5, 3 and 5 years	Ever doctor-diagnosed asthma in 5-year-old children	Visible mould: yes versus no aOR 1.21 (1.01–1.46) Only in females
Shorter, New Zealand [22]	Nested incident cases n=150 Controls n=300	Bedroom wall (electrostatic dust cloth) for 4 weeks Visible mould and odour	Children aged 1–7 years Incident wheezing	Visible mould and mould odour in a dose-dependent manner
Karvonen, Finland [25]	Cohort n=398	Home inspection Visible mould and humidity First 6 months of life	Ever physician-diagnosed asthma ≤6 years	Visible mould: yes versus no Living room aOR 7.51 (1.49–37.83) Child's bedroom aOR 4.82 (1.29–18.02) Allergic asthma aOR 9.08 (1.95–42.23)
Thacher, Sweden [26]	BAMSE cohort n=3798	Any self-reported mould or dampness indicator (dampness damage, visible mould or mould odour) in infancy (2 months)	Asthma ≤16 years	Any indicator Asthma OR 1.31 (1.08–1.59) Nonallergic asthma aOR 1.80 (1.27–2.55)

aOR: adjusted odds ratio; CCAPS: Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study; ISAAC: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood; ns: nonsignificant; BAMSE: Barn/Child Allergy Milieu Stockholm Epidemiology.