Infants exposed to mold in their home have more than double the
risk of developing asthma, suggests new research in the Annals
of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology. The risk is even greater if a
parent has asthma. The research is the first to suggest that
mold exposure in babies under the age of 1 plays a critical role
in children developing asthma. Researchers from the University
of Cincinnati visited the homes of 176 babies born in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and northern Kentucky from 2001 to 2003, where
at least one parent was allergic to a common airborne allergen.
They inspected the homes for mold when the children were 1 and
7, and offered children allergy tests at ages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.
When children were exposed to mold as infants, they were at a
significantly increased risk of asthma by the time they were 7
years old, study authors found. The best way to protect babies
from mold is to make sure that their environments are free from
moisture, which allows mold to grow, said researchers. Make sure
that leaky pipes