INDOOR AIR-QUALITY AND HEALTH - REPRODUCIBILITY OF RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS AND REPORTED HOME DAMPNESS AND MOLDS USING A SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRE

To test the reproducibility of a questionnaire previously used to study the association between respiratory symptoms and home dampness/mold, it was sent to the parents of 1,596 children twice, with an interval of one month between distributions. A total of 770 respondents completed the questionnaire both times and were entered into an analysis. For exposure variables, percentages of agreement between the two administrations ranged from 87% for visible mold growth in the home to 95% for basement flooding. Respective kappa scores ranged from 73% to 82%. Percentage agreements for the adults' symptoms variables ranged from 80% for upper respiratory symptoms, to 99% for physician-diagnosed asthma. Percentage agreements for children's symptoms ranged from 81% for upper respiratory symptoms to 97% for current asthma. For all symptoms kappas ranged from 59% to 90% indicating moderate to high reproducibility. Future research should nov concentrate on validating the questionnaire as an indicator of mold growth.