Abstract
Dampness is strongly associated with rheumatic diseases, which particularly affect the older adults. Tackling dampness is therefore important, especially given that climate change is expected to exacerbate rheumatic diseases; however, limited studies have compared the risk of rheumatic diseases in older adults based on humidity levels across different regions. To explore this, a comparative cross-sectional study was conducted to collect information on the residential characteristics, lifestyles, and health outcomes of 2000 individuals aged 60–74 years from Chongqing and Beijing. From this data, we tested for an association between six indoor dampness indicators and rheumatic related diseases/symptoms. The results showed that the risk values for joint pain were higher in Chongqing than in Beijing. Moreover, the risk of joint stiffness increased more strongly in Chongqing than in Beijing as the cumulative number of dampness exposure indicators increased. The key indoor dampness indicators affecting rheumatic diseases were different for Chongqing and Beijing. Overall, this study compared the risk of rheumatic diseases in older adults in the north and south of China because of dampness exposure and, from these, provided suggestions for modifying the indoor environments to prevent or reduce rheumatic symptoms.
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Acknowledgements
Yan Zhang and Yong Mei are co-first authors. The authors would like to thank the older adults who participated in the comparative cross-sectional study and the researchers who helped to distribute the questionnaires.
Funding
This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078076).
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Yan Zhang: Writing—Original Draft, Formal analysis, Investigation
Yong Mei: Methodology
Wei Yu: Writing—Review & Editing, Conceptualization
Miao Guo: Formal analysis, Investigation
Baizhan Li: Writing—Review & Editing, Conceptualization
Haixia Zhou: Investigation, Visualization
Chenyang Wang: Data Curation, Investigation
Chenqiu Du: Writing—Review & Editing, Visualization
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Zhang, Y., Mei, Y., Yu, W. et al. Association of indoor dampness indicators with rheumatic diseases/symptoms in older adults: A comparative cross-sectional study in Chongqing and Beijing. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 11633–11646 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31971-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31971-5