Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Environmental chemicals mediated the effect of old housing on adult health problems: US NHANES, 2009–2010

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Housing conditions affect occupants continuously, and health interventions have shown a positive association between housing investment or improvement and occupant’s health. However, the sources of the housing problems were less understood. Since it was observed that lead dust and chloroanisoles released from housing (materials) as indoor pollutants affected child’s health, we now aimed to examine the relationships among built year, environmental chemicals and individual health in adults in a national and population-based setting. Data were retrieved from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009–2010, including demographics, housing characteristics, self-reported health status, biomarkers and blood and urinary chemical concentrations. Adults aged 20 and above were included for statistical analysis (n = 5,793). Analysis involved chi-square test, t test, and survey-weighted general linear regression and logistic regression modelling. People who resided in older housing built before 1990 tended to report chronic bronchitis, liver problems, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, asthma and emphysema. Higher values in HDL cholesterol, blood lead and blood cadmium and having positive responses of hepatitis A, B, C and E antibodies among occupants were also observed. Furthermore, higher environmental chemical concentrations related to old housing including urinary cadmium, cobalt, platinum, mercury, 2,5-dichlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol concentrations and mono-cyclohexyl phthalate and mono-isobutyl phthalate metabolites were shown in occupants as well. Older housing (≥30 years) seemed to contribute to the amount of environmental chemicals that affected human health. Regular monitoring, upgrading and renovation of housing to remove environmental chemicals and policy to support people in deprived situations against environmental injustice would be needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alder RJ, Dillon JA, Loomer S, Poon HC, Robertson JM (1993) An analysis of blood lead data in clinical records by external data on lead pipes and age of housing. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 3:299–314

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brock JW, Yoshimura Y, Barr JR, Maggio VL, Graiser SR, Nakazawa H, Needham LL (2001) Measurement of bisphenol A levels in human urine. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 11:323–328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cureton S (2011) Environmental victims: environmental injustice issues that threaten the health of children living in poverty. Rev Environ Health 26:141–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Date AR, Gray AL (1989) Applications of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon SL, Gaitens JM, Jacobs DE, Strauss W, Nagaraja J, Pivetz T, Wilson JW, Ashley PJ (2009) Exposure of U.S. children to residential dust lead, 1999–2004: II. The contribution of lead-contaminated dust to children’s blood lead levels. Environ Health Perspect 117:468–474

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujimoto K, Sanada T (1999) Dependence of indoor radon concentration on the year of house construction. Health Phys 77:410–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gaitens JM, Dixon SL, Jacobs DE, Nagaraja J, Strauss W, Wilson JW, Ashley PJ (2009) Exposure of U.S. children to residential dust lead, 1999–2004: I. Housing and demographic factors. Environ Health Perspect 117:461–467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunschera J, Fuhrmann F, Salthammer T, Schulze A, Uhde E (2004) Formation and emission of chloroanisoles as indoor pollutants. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 11:147–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs DE, Wilson J, Dixon SL, Smith J, Evens A (2009) The relationship of housing and population health: a 30-year retrospective analysis. Environ Health Perspect 117:597–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim DY, Staley F, Curtis G, Buchanan S (2002) Relation between housing age, housing value, and childhood blood lead levels in children in Jefferson County, KY. Am J Public Health 92:769–772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkley AG, Sargis RM (2014) Environmental endocrine disruption of energy metabolism and cardiovascular risk. Curr Diab Rep 14:494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulligan KJ, Davidson TM, Caruso JA (1990) Feasibility of the direct analysis of urine by inductively coupled argon plasma mass-spectrometry for biological monitoring of exposure to metals. J Anal At Spectrom 5:301–306

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Health Statistics (2007) Let’s improve our health: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007–2008, overview. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville

    Google Scholar 

  • Power A (2008) Does demolition or refurbishment of old and inefficient homes help to increase our environmental, social and economic viability? Energy Policy 36:4487–4501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sariaslan A, Larsson H, D’Onofrio B, Långström N, Fazel S, Lichtenstein P (2014) Does population density and neighborhood deprivation predict schizophrenia? A Nationwide Swedish Family-Based Study of 2.4 million individuals. Schizophr Bull. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbu105

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I (2012) Neighbourhood satisfaction and happiness but not urbanization level affect self-rated health in adolescents. Scand J Public Health 40:498–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I (2013a) Building engineering epidemiology: Northern Ireland house condition survey, 2009. J Archit Eng Tech 2:112. doi:10.4172/2168-9717.1000112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I (2013b) Urine phthalate concentrations are higher in people with stroke: United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2001–2004. Eur J Neurol 20:728–731

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I (2014) Public perceptions of housing improvement and self-rated health: World Values Survey, 2005–2007. Housing Care Support 17:2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I, Hristova H (2014) Higher urinary heavy metal, phthalate and arsenic concentrations accounted for 3–19% of the population attributable risk for high blood pressure: US NHANES, 2009–2012. Hypertens Res. doi:10.1038/hr.2014.121

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiue I, Shiue YY (2013) The role of housing characteristics in biomarkers: US NHANES, 2003–2006. Int J Cardiol. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2013.07.200

    Google Scholar 

  • Silva MJ, Barr DB, Reidy JA, Malek NA, Hodge CC, Caudill SP, Brock JW, Needham LL, Calafat AM (2004) Urinary levels of seven phthalate metabolites in the U.S. population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2000. Environ Health Perspect 112:331–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner S, Baranov VI, Vollkopf U (2000) A dynamic reaction cell for inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-DRC-MS). Part III. Optimization and analytical performance. J Anal At Spectrom 15:1261–1269

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson H, Thomas S, Sellstrom E, Petticrew M (2003) Housing improvements for health and associated socio-economic outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. No.: CD008657. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008657.pub2

  • Yorita CKL, Carrico CK, Sanyal AJ, Gennings C (2013) Multiple classes of environmental chemicals are associated with liver disease: NHANES 2003–2004. Int J Hyg Environ Health 216:703–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

IS is supported by the Global Platform for Research Leaders scheme and would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, EH14 4AS, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Ivy Shiue & Glen Bramley

  2. Owens Institute of Behavioral Research, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Ivy Shiue

Authors
  1. Ivy Shiue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Glen Bramley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ivy Shiue.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shiue, I., Bramley, G. Environmental chemicals mediated the effect of old housing on adult health problems: US NHANES, 2009–2010. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 1299–1308 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3468-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3468-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation