Association of Housing Disrepair Indicators with Cockroach and Rodent Infestations in a Cohort of Pregnant Latina Women and Their Children Asa Bradman,1 Jonathan Chevrier,1 Ira Tager,1 Michael
Lipsett,2 Jaqueline Sedgwick,3 Janet Macher,4 Ana
B. Vargas,3,5 Elvia B. Cabrera,3,5 Jose M. Camacho,3,5 Rosana
Weldon,1 Katherine Kogut,1 Nicholas P. Jewell,1 and
Brenda Eskenazi1 1Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research, School
of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA; 2School
of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; 3Clínica
de Salud del Valle de Salinas, Salinas, California, USA; 4Division
of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, California Department of
Health Services, Oakland, California, USA; 5Center for the Health
Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), Salinas, California,
USA Abstract Health burdens associated with poor housing and indoor pest infestations are likely to affect young children in particular, who spend most of their time indoors at home. We completed environmental assessments in 644 homes of pregnant Latina women and their children living in the Salinas Valley, California. High residential densities were common, with 39% of homes housing > 1.5 persons per room. Housing disrepair was also common: 58% of homes had peeling paint, 43% had mold, 25% had water damage, and 11% had rotting wood. Evidence of cockroaches and rodents was present in 60% and 32% of homes, respectively. Compared with representative national survey data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homes in our sample were more likely to have rodents, peeling paint, leaks under sinks, and much higher residential densities. The odds of rodent infestations in homes increased in the presence of peeling paint [odds ratio (OR) 2.1 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) , 1.5-3.1], water damage (OR 1.9 ; 95% CI, 1.2-2.7) , and mold (OR 1.5 ; 95% CI, 1.0-2.1) . The odds of cockroach infestation increased in the presence of peeling paint (OR 3.8 ; 95% CI, 2.7-5.6) , water damage (OR 1.9 ; 95% CI, 1.2-2.9) , or high residential density (OR 2.1 ; 95% CI, 1.2-3.8) . Homes that were less clean than average were more prone to both types of infestations. Pesticides were stored or used in 51% of households, partly to control roach and rodent infestations. These data indicate that adverse housing conditions are common in this community and increase the likelihood of pest infestations and home pesticide use. Interventions to improve housing and promote children’s health and safety in this population are needed. Key words: children, cockroaches, environment, exposure, Hispanic, home inspections, housing quality, Latino, pesticides, pregnant, rodents, women. Environ Health Perspect 113: 1795-1801 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7588 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 27 July 2005]
Address correspondence to A. Bradman, Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, 2150 Shattuck Ave., Suite 600, Berkeley, CA 94720-7380 USA. Telephone: (510) 643-3023. Fax: (510) 642-9083. E-mail: abradman@socrates.berkeley.edu We thank S. Rimando of the Monterey County Health Department for home inspection training and the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on this manuscript. We especially thank the families that participated in this study. This research was jointly funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant R82679-01-0 and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant PO1ES09605-02. This research has not been subjected to agency review and does not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies. No official endorsement should be inferred. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 16 September 2004 ; accepted 11 July 2005. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |