Asthma Associated With Mold

Starting from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and World Health Organization (WHO) reports, this review provides an overview of the literature published from 2006 to 2017 on the associations between indoor mold exposure and asthma and rhinitis separately in children and adults with a focus on longitudinal epidemiological studies.

A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature was performed, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, longitudinal, incident case-control, and panel studies. 61 publications were identified reporting visible mold or mold odor or quantitative assessment of culturable fungi or mold species.

In children, visible mold and mold odor were associated with the development and exacerbations of asthma, providing sufficient evidence of a causal relationship. Results from population-based studies in adults were too few and divergent to conclude at more than a limited level of evidence. Exposure to mold in a work building was associated with the incidence and exacerbations of occupational asthma, and we concluded sufficient evidence for an association. Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and longitudinal studies on the relationships between mold exposure and allergic rhinitis provide sufficient evidence of an association.