by Playfuls Staff |
3rd March 2007
Insulating houses can significantly improve the inhabitants' health, a New Zealand study found.[more]
Researchers at the University of Otago in Wellington identified 1,350 uninsulated homes, all in low-income communities. After splitting the homes into two groups, researchers had one group's homes insulated.
The insulation led to a significant increase in indoor temperature and a drop in relative humidity, and the people living in those homes reported their homes felt less damp and moldy.
Adults and children living in the insulated houses had fewer respiratory illnesses and were half as likely to miss school or work as those living in the uninsulated houses, the researchers said.
"Interventions of this kind which focus on low-income communities and poorer quality housing have the potential to reduce health inequalities," the researchers said in the British Medical Journal. "Retrofitting insulation is a cost-effective intervention for improving health and well-being."
© 2007 UPI
