Vesper Stephen J, McKinstry Craig, Haugland Richard A, Iossifova Yulia, Lemasters Grace, Levin Linda, Khurana Hershey Gurjit K, Villareal Manuel, Bernstein David I, Lockey James, Reponen Tiina
US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2007 Jan;17(1):88-94. doi: 10.1038/sj.jes.7500528. Epub 2006 Oct 11.
The results of a traditional visual mold inspection were compared to a mold evaluation based on the Relative Moldiness Index (RMI). The RMI is calculated from mold-specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR) measurements of the concentration of 36 species of molds in floor dust samples. These two prospective mold evaluations were used to classify the mold condition in 271 homes of infants. Later, the development of respiratory illness was measured in the infants living in these homes and the predictive value of each classification system was evaluated. The binary classification of homes as either moldy or non-moldy by on-site visual home inspection was not predictive of the development of respiratory illness (wheeze and/or rhinitis) (P=0.27). Conversely, a method developed and validated in this paper, using the RMI index fit to a logistic function, can be used to predict the occurrence of illness in homes and allows stake-holders the choice among various levels of risk.
将传统的目视霉菌检查结果与基于相对霉菌指数（RMI）的霉菌评估进行了比较。RMI是根据对地板灰尘样本中36种霉菌浓度的霉菌特异性定量PCR（MSQPCR）测量值计算得出的。这两种前瞻性霉菌评估用于对271名婴儿家中的霉菌状况进行分类。随后，对居住在这些家中的婴儿的呼吸道疾病发展情况进行了测量，并评估了每个分类系统的预测价值。通过现场目视家庭检查将家庭二元分类为发霉或不发霉，并不能预测呼吸道疾病（喘息和/或鼻炎）的发生（P = 0.27）。相反，本文开发并验证的一种方法，即使用符合逻辑函数的RMI指数，可用于预测家庭中疾病的发生，并让利益相关者在不同风险水平之间进行选择。
