The sick building syndrome: prevalence studies.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Occupational Medicine
• Building Science

Background:

• The
• sick building syndrome
• is a recognized health concern in indoor environments.
• Previous studies have linked various symptoms to building ventilation and air quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms in different office building ventilation types.
• To compare symptom frequencies between air-conditioned and naturally ventilated office spaces.

Main Methods:

• A doctor-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on symptoms from workers in nine offices.
• Offices included fully air-conditioned, mixed ventilation, and naturally ventilated types.
• Blind interviews were conducted with workers in selected air-conditioned and naturally ventilated buildings.

Main Results:

• A consistent pattern of symptoms, including nasal, eye, and mucous membrane irritation, lethargy, dry skin, and headaches, was observed.
• These six symptoms showed a statistically significant higher prevalence in air-conditioned buildings compared to naturally ventilated ones.

Conclusions:

• The six identified symptoms are strongly indicative of the sick building syndrome.
• The prevalence of sick building syndrome may be underestimated in current public health recognition.
• Building ventilation design, particularly air conditioning, is a likely contributing factor.