Cited by 91Indoor Air Quality and Microbial ExposureEnergy and Environment ImpactsAir Quality and Health Impacts

Housing Risk Factors Associated with Respiratory Disease: A Systematic Review

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Wimalasena, Nipuni Nilakshini, Chang-Richards, Alice, Wang, Kevin I-Kai, Dirks, Kim N.·2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Abstract

Cold, damp and mouldy housing arises from the degradation of the housing stock over time due to weathering and a lack of maintenance. Living in such houses is associated with many adverse impacts on human health, especially for those with existing health issues. This paper presents a systematic review, using the PRISMA protocol, consisting of an exploratory analysis of housing-related risk factors associated with respiratory disease. The review consisted of 360 studies investigating 19 risk factors associated with respiratory conditions. Each fall into one of four categories, namely, (1) outdoor environment-related factors; (2) indoor air pollution-related factors; (3) housing non-structure-related factors; or (4) housing structure-related factors. The results show that effects of poor housing conditions on occupants’ respiratory health is a growing research field, where poor indoor air quality, mainly due to a lack of adequate ventilation, was found to be the most influential risk factor. Usage of solid fuel and living in an urban area without a pollutant-free air filtration system are the main risk factors related to inadequate ventilation. Therefore, an adequate and reliable ventilation system with air-infiltration was considered to be the main mitigation solution to improve indoor air quality. It is suggested that government organisations and health practitioners could use the identified risk factors to measure the healthiness of existing dwellings and take measures to improve existing conditions and develop regulations for new housing construction to promote the healthy home concept. Further research is needed for risk mitigation strategies to reduce the respiratory health burden attributed to housing.

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Crossref · 10.3390/ijerph18062815

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  • A review of 360 studies investigating housing risk factors for respiratory disease reported that poor indoor air quality, mainly due to a lack of adequate ventilation, was the most influential risk factor.

    “A review of 360 studies investigating housing risk factors for respiratory disease reported that poor indoor air quality, mainly due to a lack of adequate ventilation, was the most influential risk factor (172).”

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  1. [122]Atkinson J. Chartier Y. Pessoa-Silva C.L. Jensen P. Li A. Seto W.-H. Natural Ventilation for Infection Control in Health-Care Settings WHO Geneva, Switzerland 2009 23762969

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Authors
Wimalasena, N. N., Chang-Richards, A., Wang, K. I.-K., & Dirks, K. N.
Affiliations
University of Auckland (NZ)
Corresponding author
Wimalasena, Nipuni Nilakshini
Venue
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-03-10
Volume
18
Issue
6
Pages
2815
ISSN
1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3134579604
Cited by
91
References
111
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 8
FWCI
1.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
University of Auckland Public Policy Institute (371595)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Energy and Environment Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
Keywords
housing conditions, respiratory diseases, indoor air quality, poor ventilation, solid fuel use, outdoor air pollution, air filtration systems, healthy housing
MeSH terms
Environmental Pollutants, Housing, Humans, Risk Factors, Ventilation, Air Pollution, Indoor

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