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(...) Scientific research makes clear that cold homes are harmful for their occupants and sometimes even deadly, too. There's a higher risk of stroke, respiratory infection and falls or other injuries due to people's reduced strength and dexterity in low temperatures. Cold homes can have both short and long-term consequences for a person's health, wellbeing and even their opportunities in life. (...)
To fully understand why this is such a problem, it's important to get past the misconception some may have that a cold house is merely uncomfortable. Low temperatures affect the very functioning of our bodies, says Dame Margaret Whitehead, professor of public health at the University of Liverpool, in the UK.
Take blood as an example. When the mercury drops, our blood vessels narrow slightly. This raises blood pressure and hampers circulation. Our blood also becomes thicker, partly due to an increase in the levels of a protein called fibrinogen and other molecules that cause clotting. The ultimate consequence of these changes could be a stroke or heart attack. (...)
Besides the direct effects of low temperatures, other environmental factors in cold homes can impact people's health – such as damp and mould, which are more common in poorly heated houses.
The spores released by mould fungi irritate people's lungs and can exacerbate conditions such as asthma. One nine-year study showed that living in damp and mouldy conditions for long periods is significantly related to a decline in lung function, for example: how much air people can expel in one second of breathing out.
Children living in damp, mouldy houses have an increased risk of respiratory infections. This has worried public health experts given that some children's immunity might already be impaired as a result of the pandemic lockdowns. (...)
The consequences can be fatal. A 2011 report from University College London's (UCL) Institute of Health Equity, known as the Marmot review, estimated that 21.5% of excess winter deaths in the UK were attributable to cold homes. The figure changes year after year but can equate to several thousand deaths in a single season. In 2020-21, for example, 63,000 excess winter deaths were recorded in England. (...)
There is little doubt that cold homes can kill but they can also simply worsen people's overall health and affect their quality of life. One US study, published in 2019, found an association between colder weather and a rise in dementia-related hospitalisations. (...)
[http://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221107-energy-crisis-how-living-in-a-cold-home-affects-your-health]