Healthy Homes MRI study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
129Xe MRI to investigate lung health in children exposed to extreme damp at home.
IRAS ID
349324
Contact name
Heather Elphick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 3 days
Research summary
Early intervention/prevention and air pollution are two current high-profile national agendas with the recent publication of Chief Medical Officer’s report on air pollution, and case reports of two children’s deaths as a result of pollution in the national news. Damp and mould in the home are linked with respiratory disease but the effect of indoor air pollution on children’s lung health has not yet been extensively investigated and historically families in social housing have been overlooked in terms of risk to respiratory health. Currently staff from social care are risk-assessing homes to identify those most affected by mould. This takes time and there are long waits for this service.
129Xe MRI scanning is a sensitive method for visualising early lung disease in a number of children’s respiratory conditions. We propose to use this method to identify early changes in the lungs of children exposed to extreme levels of damp and mould in the home. For this preliminary study, we will recruit 10 children identified as having extremely high levels of damp and mould in their home. We will scan their lungs, check their lung function and offer them a respiratory clinic appointment if appropriate.
Future research will use the findings of this study to identify early but reversible lung damage caused by damp and to develop an intervention package to enable children at risk to receive early treatment and monitoring of their lung health. Ultimately, screening and prevention/early intervention for lung damage in children as a result of damp exposure will be an achievable goal. In addition, the Healthy Homes project will use technology to identify homes and therefore families at risk, thereby allowing the scarce resources to be targeted towards the most severe cases.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/1371
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion