Health effects of residence in homes with urea formaldehyde foam insulation: a pilot study

All full-time residents (N = 24) from six homes with urea formal dehyde foam insimulation underwent standardized allergy, respiratory, and neuropsychiatric tests. Skin testing did not reveal an increased prevalence of atopy or reaction to 4% formalin. Spirometry was normal in all subjects, and bronchial reactivity was not significantly different from a population-based response to the same challenge. Memory difficulty was a frequently reported symptom. Memory storage deficits could not be documented, but 11 of 14 subjects had abnormal tests of attention span. Eight of the 11 subjects with attention span deficits had elevated depression scores. Chronic low level exposure to formaldehyde may cause significant mental status changes, but further testing of a larger, randomly population is necessary to evaluate this question.