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January 2003
Current scientific evidence doesn’t support the belief that mold in homes, schools or office environments has harmed human health, according to a new study sponsored by a group of doctors who specialize in workplace health issues.
The study, “Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment” from the 6,000-member American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is yet another voice on the puzzling question of whether certain strains of mold pose a health risk to homeowners.
The issue of so-called "toxic" black mold and the high cost of remediating mold problems that some people believe can be a health hazard has created turmoil in the homeowner's insurance marketplace and caused considerable angst amongst homeowners and home buyers.
The doctor group's study examines the possible health effects of mycotoxins, which give rise to much of the concern and controversy surrounding indoor molds. "Mold" is the common term for multicellular fungi that grow as a mat of intertwined microscopic filaments (hyphae). Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: allergy, infection and toxicity.
The group reported that an estimated 10 percent of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens and only half of these would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds—leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease.
The study points out that molds are not dominant allergens and that the outdoor molds, rather than indoor ones, are the most important. For almost all allergic individuals, the reactions will be limited to rhinitis or asthma; sinusitis may occur secondarily due to obstruction, according to ACOEM.
ACOEM acknowledges that while some indoor molds may produce mycotoxins that can adversely affect living cells and organisms, the causal association remains weak and unproven.
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