Statistics

The research is clear.  Mold and indoor contaminants can cause serious health problems.

The following information provides some of the statistics.

From a 2022 paper by NIOSH (published July 23, 2022):

NIOSH Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool (DMAT): Documentation and Data Analysis of Dampness and Mold-Related Damage in Buildings and Its Application

This report quotes several statistics regarding dampness/mold in indoor environments (although most of the statistics are very outdated). Here are a few of the key statistics in the report:

• Although there are no national data on the prevalence of dampness/mold in U.S. residential buildings, the population-weighted average prevalence of dampness/mold estimated from several published studies was 47%.

• There is also a lack of recent national data on the prevalence of dampness/mold for schools and other types of non-residential buildings. The longstanding 1995 U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) survey on school buildings indicated that 40% of schools in the U.S. had plumbing problems and 27% had roofing problems that could lead to interior or exterior water leakage.

• The U.S. EPA BASE study of 100 randomly selected public and commercial office buildings across the U.S. conducted during 1994 through 1998 showed that 85% of the buildings experienced past water damage and 45% had current leakage problems.
  

• A 2008 study of 831 residential homes from 75 different locations in the U.S. reported that 24% of surveyed homes had moisture or mold problems.

• The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) II reported that the prevalence of self-reported water damage was 28%, while the prevalence of self-reported visible mold was 25%, and visible mold was observed on 14% of European homes.

• A study of schools in three European countries (the Netherlands, Spain and Finland) reported that 20-41% of the schools buildings had moisture problems.

From the 2016 UNICEF report

UNICEF: Clear the Air for Children

The sheer numbers of children affected (by indoor and outdoor pollution) are staggering. Based on satellite imagery, in the first analysis of its kind, this report shows that around the world today, 300 million children live in areas with extremely toxic levels of air pollution. Approximately 2 billion children live in areas where pollution levels exceed the minimum air quality standards set by the World Health Organization. These data don’t account for the millions of children exposed to air pollution inside the home.

The impact is commensurately shocking. Every year, nearly 600,000 children under the age of five die from diseases caused or exacerbated by the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution. Millions more suffer from respiratory diseases that diminish their resilience and affect their physical and cognitive development.

Together, outdoor and indoor air pollution are directly linked with pneumonia and other respiratory diseases that account for almost one in 10 under-five deaths, making air pollution one of the leading dangers to children’s health.

From a 2016 report on the economic costs of certain health issues caused by exposure to indoor dampness and mold in the U.S.

Valuing the Economic Costs of Allergic Rhinitis, Acute Bronchitis, and Asthma from Exposure to Indoor Dampness and Mold in the U.S.

This researcher estimated the costs of allergic rhinitis, acute bronchitis and asthma caused by exposure to indoor dampness and mold in the U.S.40 He used two methods—cost of illness (COI) and willingness to pay (WTP). 

WTP measures the full cost to society, but WTP estimates are difficult to compute and rarely available. COI methods are more often used but less likely to reflect full costs.

Based on the data available, he estimates the total annual costs as follows:

Allergic Rhinitis $3.7 billion

Acute Bronchitis $1.9 billion

Asthma Morbidity $15.1 billion

Asthma Mortality $1.7 billion

From a 2017 report about the costs relating to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Europe

Healthy Homes Barometer, Buildings and Their Impact on the Health of Europeans

Today, one out of six Europeans – or the equivalent of Germany’s population – reports living in unhealthy buildings, i.e., buildings that have damp (leaking roof or damp floor, walls or foundation), a lack of daylight, inadequate heating during the winter or overheating problems. In some countries, that number is as high as one out of three.

The entire respiratory system becomes vulnerable when exposed to poor indoor air quality, which can provoke the onset of various respiratory illnesses and even raise the risk of developing non-respiratory diseases. In fact, people are 40% more likely to have asthma when living in a damp or mouldy home.

They estimated the annual cost of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at €82 billion ($93 billion).

From a 2016 World Health Organization report

Ambient Air Pollution: A Global Assessment of Exposure and Burden of Disease

The report states that “92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.”

Some 3 million deaths a year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution can be just as deadly. In 2012, an estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6% of all global deaths) were associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution together. [Note from GIHN: The 11.6% statistic relates to only five types of pollutants.]

From a November 12, 2016, article about the effects of indoor and outdoor pollution in India

Dirty Air Could be Killing 4 Kids Every Hour in Uttar Pradesh

Studies across the world and also in India prove that outdoor and indoor air pollution is a serious environmental risk factor that causes or aggravates acute and chronic diseases and has been identified as the fifth highest cause of morbidity in India.

Four kids could be dying every hour in UP (Uttar Pradesh ) of pneumonia caused by respirable suspended particulate matter (PM) 1, 2.5 and 10, which form a large part of the air we breathe. Alarmingly, the number adds up to 104 deaths per day and 38,000 a year.

From a 2015 report from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India

Body Burden 2015: State of India's Health

Air pollution is responsible for 10,000-30,000 deaths in Delhi annually and is the fifth largest cause of death in the country.

Outdoor air pollution kills 620,000 people, and indoor air pollution kills 1.5 million people in India annually.

From a 2015 World Health Organization report

Economic Cost of the Health Impact of Air Pollution in Europe: Clean Air, Health and Wealth

This study estimated the cost of indoor and outdoor pollution of 53 countries in the European Region at $1.6 trillion. This is nearly 1/10 of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire European Union.

From a 2015 report by the United Kingdom: National Institute for Health and Welfare

Poor Ventilation Linked to Cardiovascular Disease

This report highlights the impact of indoor pollutants on disease and life expectancy. The study concludes that indoor air pollution is potentially responsible for the annual loss of over 200,000 healthy life years in the U.K.

In a recent Pan-European study, they estimate that exposure to indoor pollutants is linked to reduced life expectancy and burden of disease (57% of the total burden relates to cardiovascular diseases, 23% to lung cancer, 12% to asthma and the remaining 8% is in association with other respiratory conditions).

From a 2012 report from Finland

Mould Damage Costs Nearly Half a Billion Euros Each Year

The estimated cost of health problems associated with mould and damp is 450 million euros each year. If you add the cost of repairing the problem, the total reaches 1.4 billion euros.

The recent publication of the Audit Committee of the Finnish Parliament indicated that approximately 7–9% of terraced houses; 6–9% of apartment buildings; 12–18% of schools and kindergartens; 20–26% of nursing homes, hospitals, and outpatient departments; and 2.5–5% of offices have been significantly damaged with dampness and are infested with indoor molds.

It has been estimated that approximately 800,000 or every seventh Finnish citizen has been exposed to some extent and become sensitized to compounds present in poor quality indoor air. However, since there is no ICD-10 coding system for mold-related illness, its exact incidence is unknown. If one extrapolates from the above presented figures, one could argue that the incidence of mold-related illness may be much higher than the incidences for cardiovascular conditions, cancers, and accident-induced traumas.

From a March 25, 2014 press release by the World Health Organization (WHO)

7 Million Deaths Annually Linked to Air Pollution (Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution)

In new estimates released (on March 25, 2014), WHO reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died - one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk. Reducing air pollution could save millions of lives.

In particular, the new data reveal a stronger link between both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischaemic heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer. This is in addition to air pollution’s role in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

From a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Africa

The Cost of Air Pollution in Africa

The annual number of deaths from outdoor pollution rose 36% from 1990 to 2013. Deaths from indoor air pollution rose 18% during that same time period.

Dirty air has led to the premature deaths of 712,000 Africans each year, more than the toll of unsafe water, malnutrition and unsafe sanitation. In September last year, researchers calculated the monetary cost of air pollution in Africa for the first time: $215 billion from outdoor pollution and $232 billion from indoor pollution (based on 2013 figures). These cost estimates are based on the economic cost of premature deaths.

From a 2016 report by the World Health Organization (this is an update to their 2006 report on Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments )

Preventing Disease Through Healthy Environments (2016)

The report includes the following statistics for deaths attributable to the environment:

• 26% of all deaths in children under age five
• 24-26% of all deaths in adults age 50 to 75 (which includes the risk of falls)
• 23% of total deaths worldwide

They point out in the paper that statistics are not available for deaths due to each of these specific causes, so the estimates are largely based on surveys of expert opinion.

Although these estimates reflect only a few select environmental causes (i.e., primarily climate change, fossil fuel consumption, safe water and sanitation) imagine how large the percentage might be if they include all environmental factors.

From a 2011 World Health Organization report

Environmental Burden of Disease Associated with Inadequate Housing

"About 12% of new childhood asthma in Europe can be attributed to indoor mould exposure, which represents approximately 55 842 potentially avoidable DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) and 83 potentially avoidable deaths per year."

"About 15% of new childhood asthma in Europe can be attributed to indoor dampness, which represents
approximately 69 462 potentially avoidable DALYs and 103 potentially avoidable deaths per year."

"Some 4.8 million (22%) of England’s 22 million dwellings were identified as having a Category 1 HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) hazard and thus by our definition deemed to be ‘unhealthy housing’."

"The total cost of dealing with HHSRS Category 1 hazards in the English housing stock is some £17.6 billion."

"Another paper from the United States shows that remediation of lead paint hazards in housing yields a net benefit of $67 billion (Nevin et al., 2008)."

From a 2011 study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. EPA

Benefits and Costs of Improved IEQ in U.S. Offices

"The estimated benefits of the scenarios analyzed are substantial in magnitude, including increased work performance, reduced Sick Building Syndrome symptoms, reduced absence, and improved thermal comfort for millions of office workers.  The combined potential annual economic benefit of a set of overlapping scenarios is approximately $20 billion."

From the Mold Resources page on the U.S. EPA website:

One third to one half of all structures have damp conditions that may encourage development of pollutants such as molds and bacteria, which can cause allergic reactions — including asthma — and spread infectious diseases.