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Articles in Housing maintenance affects health outcomes.

  • Home deterioration - such as compromised climate control, growth of mold and mildew, and pest or rodent infestation - can lead to respiratory diseases such as asthma or allergic symptoms.

    Eggleston PA, Butz A, Rand C, et al. Home environmental intervention in inner-city asthma: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005;95(6):496-497.
    Kercsmar CM, Dearborn DG, Schluchter M, et al. Reduction in asthma morbidity in children as a result of home remediation aimed at moisture sources. Environ Health Perspect. 2006;114(10):1574-1580.
    Bradman A, Chevrier J, Tager I, et al. Association of housing disrepair indicators with cockroach and rodent infestation in a cohort of pregnant latina women and their children. Environ Health Perspect. 2005;113(2):1795-1801.

  • On the community level, the deterioration of housing stock leads to housing filtering (lower income levels move into a neighborhood over time), which results in progressively poorer housing maintenance and quality.

    O'Sullivan A. Why is housing different? In: Urban Economics. 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill; 1993:433-466.
    Kiefer D. Housing deterioration, housing codes, and rent control. Urban Stud. 1980;17:53-62.

  • The connection between inadequate housing and poor health is increasingly well documented.

    Thomson H, Petticrew M, Morrison D. Health effects of housing improvement: systematic review of intervention studies. BMJ. 2001;323:187–190.

  • Substandard and deteriorating housing contributes to a variety of ailments, from respiratory disease and neurological disorders to psychological and behavioral dysfunction.

    Bashir SA. Home is where the harm is: inadequate housing as a public health crisis. Am J Public Health. 2002; 92(5):733-738.

  • Research has found that children living in dilapidated, poorly maintained inner-city housing may be at a particularly high risk for lead poisoning.

    Bashir SA. Home is where the harm is: inadequate housing as a public health crisis. Am J Public Health. 2002; 92(5):733-738.

  • Common substandard housing conditions, such as drafts, dampness, mold, old carpeting, lead paint, and pest infestations, are linked to recurrent headaches, fever, nausea, skin disease, sore throats, and respiratory illness such as asthma.

    Krieger J, Higgins D. Housing and health: time again for public health action. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(5): 758-768.