Modelling the effects of low indoor temperatures on the lung function of children with asthma
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Introduction: While many epidemiological studies have shown that low outdoor temperatures are associated with increased rates of hospitalisation and mortality (especially for respiratory or cardiovascular disease), very few studies have looked at the association between indoor temperatures and health. Such studies are clearly warranted, as people have greater exposure to the indoor environment than the outdoor environment. Objectives: To examine the relationship between various metrics of indoor temperature and lung function in children with asthma. Our specific research questions were: (1) In which room of the home is temperature most strongly associated with lung function? (2) Which exposure metric best describes the relationship between indoor temperature and lung function? (3) Over what lag/time period does indoor air temperature affect lung function most strongly? Methods: The Heating Housing and Health Study was a randomised controlled trial that investigated the effect of installing heaters in the homes of children with asthma. This study collected measurements of lung function (daily) and indoor temperature (hourly). Lung function and indoor temperature were measured for 309 children over 12 049 child-days. Statistical models were fitted to identify the best measures and metrics. Results: The strongest association with lung function was found for the severity of exposure to low bedroom temperatures averaged over the preceding periods of 0–7 to 0–12 days. A 1°C increase in temperature was associated with an average increase of 0.010, 0.008, 10.06, 12.06, in our four measures of lung function (peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) morning, PEFR evening, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) morning and FEV 1 evening). Conclusions: Indoor temperatures have a small, but significant, association with short-term variations in the lung function of children with asthma.
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Higher indoor temperatures and reduced levels of NO2 had a small but significant positive association with short-term variations in the lung function of children with asthma, who suffered greater upper and lower respiratory symptoms and used reliever medication more frequently.
“Measurements of daily lung function and hourly indoor temperature showed that higher indoor temperatures and reduced levels of NO2 had a small, but significant positive association, with short-term variations in the lung function of children with asthma, who suffered greater upper and lower respiratory symptomsandusedreliever medication more frequently (51,127).”
From Review of the Impact of Housing Quality on Inequalities in Health and Well-Being (2023) · cites this paper as [127]
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Review of the Impact of Housing Quality on Inequalities in Health and Well-Being
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Pierse, N., Arnold, R., Keall, M., Howden-Chapman, P., Crane, J., Cunningham, M., & the Heating Housing and Health Study Group
- Affiliations
- University of Otago (NZ)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research Programme, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
- Building Research Association of New Zealand (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Pierse, Nevil
- Venue
- Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2013-08-12
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 918-925
- ISSN
- 0141-7681 (ISSN-L)
- 0143-005X
- 1470-2738
- OpenAlex
- W2087959719
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 1.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Victoria University of Wellington
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Keywords
- indoor temperature, asthma, children, lung function, peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume, bedroom temperature, exposure metrics, lagged effects, residential heating
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Asthma, Child, Child, Preschool, Environmental Exposure, Female, Forced Expiratory Volume, Heating, Humans, Male, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate, Respiratory Function Tests, Temperature, Air Pollution, Indoor
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