Damp homes raise risk of asthma in children

Living in a damp or mouldy home from an early age is putting children at increased risk of having asthma well into their teenage years, according to research.

Speaking ahead of the European Respiratory Society’s international congress in London next week, its president Prof Jorgen Vestbo warned that “people’s homes can put their health at risk”.

Delegates are set to hear about two new studies into the potential longterm health risks posed by damp homes, including one that found exposing babies raises the risk of developing asthma by up to 14 per cent until adolescence.