In a recent study, 54 of 231 hypersensitivity pneumonitis patients had home mold exposure as the culprit antigen
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, July 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Home mold, often attributed to chronic and/or recurring water intrusion, is associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), according to a study published online May 8 in PLOS One.
Traci N. Adams, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues assessed a large retrospective cohort of patients with HP to describe home mold exposure. Patients were identified from a single center interstitial lung disease database between 2011 and 2019 and had a moderate, high, or definite confidence diagnosis of HP.
The researchers identified home mold exposure as the culprit antigen in 54 of 231 HP patients. In 85.7 percent of the cohort, an invasive procedure was performed to confirm the diagnosis of HP. Chronic and/or recurring water intrusion was the main cause of home mold. Within the home, the most common locations of mold included the bathroom, bedroom, and air conditioning unit. Transplant-free survival was 97.7 months and did not differ compared with 50 HP patients in the cohort with HP associated with a mold exposure outside the home or patients with HP associated with avian antigen exposure. Five of the 41 patients who removed the exposure (12.2 percent) had a >10 percent improvement in forced vital capacity, including four patients with fibrotic HP.
“This study advances the field by informing clinicians of the type of exposures that can lead to the development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis,” Adams said in a statement.
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