Clinical Findings of the Patients with Sick Building Syndrome and the Results of Environmental Measurement

Yoshida, Tatsuo; Ogawa, Masanori; Goto, Hiroyuki; Ohshita, Ayumi; Kurose, Naoko; Yokosawa, Fumiko; Hirata, Mamoru; Endo, Yuichi

doi:10.1539/sangyoeisei.b10011

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Xylene is one of the basic and primary oils produced in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. It has been reported to increase the risk of sick house syndrome along with toluene and TVOC 39. The indoor concentrations of CO 2 and airborne fungi were significantly high in case of subjects raising domestic pets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Relationship Between Indoor Air Pollutant Levels and Residential Environment in Children With Atopic Dermatitis

Lee

Park

et al. 2014

Allergy Asthma Immunol Res

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PurposeThis study was aimed to investigate the relationship between indoor air pollutant levels and residential environment in children with atopic dermatitis (AD) living in Seoul.MethodsA total of 150 children with AD were included. Residential environment was assessed by questionnaires which were completed by their parents. To evaluate the level of exposure to the indoor air pollutants, concentrations of the indoor air pollutants including particulate matter with diameter less than 10 µm (PM10), formaldehyde, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC), benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, xylene, styrene, bacterial aerosols, and airborne fungi were measured.ResultsA significant difference was exhibited in the levels of PM10 in case of visible fungus on the walls (P=0.047). There was relationship between the construction year of the house, moving to a newly constructed building within 1 year and formaldehyde level. With the use of artificial air freshener, the differences were found in the concentrations of TVOC (P=0.003), benzene (P=0.015), toluene (P=0.012) and ethyl-benzene (P=0.027). The concentration of xylene was significantly high when oil was used as heating fuel (P=0.015). Styrene exhibited differences depending on building type and its concentrations were significantly high in a residential and commercial complex building (P=0.005). The indoor concentration of bacterial aerosols was significantly low with the use of air cleaner (P=0.045). High NO2, benzene concentrations were present in case of almost no ventilation (P=0.028 and P=0.028, respectively).ConclusionsIndividual residential environments are closely related with the levels of the indoor air pollutants. To alleviate AD symptoms, simple questions about residential environments such as visible fungus on the walls and the use of artificial air freshener are helpful to assess the possibility of increased indoor air pollutant levels when direct measurement is not available.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Relationship Between Indoor Air Pollutant Levels and Residential Environment in Children With Atopic Dermatitis

Lee

Park

et al. 2014

Allergy Asthma Immunol Res

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“…Furthermore, some studies pointed out that smell can induce not only stress but also illness 6 , 7 ) . Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) 8 ) , which have been proposed to occur by exposure to extremely low-concentration of chemicals, and sick-building syndrome (SBS) 7 ) , which is intimately related to low level exposure to workplace chemicals, are recognized as a health problem related to unpleasant smell, because appearance of sick conditions and exposure to unpleasant odors are closely connected in both cases 2 , 7 , 9 , 10 ) . However the dispute on whether a cause is direct toxicities of chemical substances or a smell related psychological response is not yet settled.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, TLV and odor threshold of toluene are 20 and 0.16 ppm (v/v), respectively, and those of xylene are 100 and 0.49 ppm (v/v) 12 ) . In fact, some organic solvents including toluene and xylene are identified as causative agents of the SBS 10 ) and also, they are suspected to induce the MCS 8 ) . Some researchers pointed out that the health effects could appear by those chemicals with much lower level than the TLV if the occurrence of sickness is related to the smell of chemicals 13 ) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%