Making homes more sustainable leads to better health for children
Source: https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/13-03-2026-making-homes-more-sustainable-leads-to-better-health-for-children Parent: https://www.tue.nl/en/research
Share
Making homes more sustainable leads to better health for children
March 13, 2026
Research by TU/e and VU shows that better insulation and ventilation lead to important health benefits for children.
iStockphoto/ArtMarie
Better insulation and ventilation in social housing mean thousands of children no longer need medication for asthma or allergies. This is the conclusion of a large-scale study involving two million people, monitored for 10 years by researchers from TU/e and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). It is the first study to show on a large scale that making homes more sustainable leads to health benefits. The researchers published their results on March 12 in The Lancet Public Health.
Researchers Roberdel, Ossokina, Arentze from TU/e and Van Ommeren from VU analyzed a large-scale renovation program of Dutch social housing between 2012 and 2021. These renovations, which included better insulation and ventilation, took place in phases. This enabled a reliable comparison between families in renovated and non-renovated homes.
Better air quality
The improved air quality in refurbished homes led to a four percent reduction in the number of children requiring asthma medication immediately after the renovation. After five years, that number rose to seven percent. Reducing moisture, mold, and dust mites is particularly important. In the Netherlands, one in 10 children has asthma. Better health in a child's early years reduces the risk of medical and social problems later.
Ioulia Ossokina. Photo: Vincent van den Hoogen
Crucial role for housing
“Housing plays a crucial role in our health,” says associate professor and research leader Ioulia Ossokina (TU/e, Built Environment). “Policymakers must explicitly take health effects into account when making decisions about energy and housing market policy,” Ossokina argues.
Apart from respiratory complaints, the study found no effect of sustainability measures on other conditions. This was in line with expectations, given the mild and humid climate and the reasonably good home heating in the Netherlands.
Vincent Roberdel. Photo: Angeline Swinkels
Individual data of two million people
A large, anonymized database was built within the secure environment of Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Home renovation data was linked to residents' medication information. PhD candidate Vincent Roberdel (TU/e, Built Environment): "Without millions of pieces of linked individual data, we would not have been able to accurately determine the impact. Good data is essential for effective policy assessment." The research was made possible in part by support from NWO, RVO, and the Villum Foundations.
Jos van Ommeren. Photo: VU
Follow-up research
Jos Van Ommeren (VU, School of Business and Economics) on the follow-up research: “An important follow-up question is where the money should be invested: renovating old social housing or building new homes?” The researchers are also working on a follow-up project examining the effects of housing quality on children's development before birth.
The research is part of the BEL program (Behavior Energy Transition Low Income) (2020–2026). Within this program, TU/e, VU, Erasmus University, Leiden University, housing associations Woonbedrijf, Elan Wonen, Pre Wonen, and Bazalt Wonen, and the Atriensis agency are collaborating.
- [### Publication
Effect of energy-efficient homes on residents' health: evidence from a natural experiment in the Netherlands
The Lancet Public Health, March 12 2026
Read more](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246826672600023X) - ### Authors
Vincent P Roberdel
Ioulia V Ossokina
Jos van Ommeren
Theo A Arentze
Sanne Resoort
(Press Officer)
+31 (0)6 15 33 15 10 s.resoort@tue.nl
Latest news
[March 18, 2026
TU/e awards an honorary doctorate to Christian Borgs
Borgs is a world-leading researcher at the interface of mathematics, statistical physics, theoretical computer science, and AI for science.
Read more](https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/18-03-2026-tue-awards-an-honorary-doctorate-to-christian-borgs) [March 13, 2026
Municipality of Roermond and TU/e investigate collaboration
First potential project: housing for students and starters next to Roermond station
Read more](https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/13-03-2026-municipality-of-roermond-and-tue-investigate-collaboration) [March 13, 2026
Making homes more sustainable leads to better health for children
Research by TU/e and VU shows that better insulation and ventilation lead to important health benefits for children.
Read more](https://www.tue.nl/en/news-and-events/news-overview/13-03-2026-making-homes-more-sustainable-leads-to-better-health-for-children)
Keep following us
[Social media
Be part of our community and stay up to date on everything that happens at TU/e by following us on LinkedIn.](https://www.linkedin.com/school/eindhoven-university-of-technology/mycompany/)[Socials
Instagram - Campus Life
Follow everything that happens on and around our campus on Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/tue_campuslife/)
- 1
- 2
Previous
Next
Previous
Next