Oxidative Stress Associated with Indoor Air Pollution and Sick Building Syndrome-Related Symptoms among Office Workers in Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigated whether sick building syndrome (SBS) complaints and indoor air pollution for office workers are associated with oxidative stress indicated by urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). With informed consent, 389 employees in 87 government offices of 8 high-rise buildings in Taipei city completed self-reported questionnaires on SBS complaints at work in the past month. Urinary 8-OHdG was determined for each study participant and on-site air pollutants were measured for each office in both indoor and outdoor air. The results showed that urinary 8-OHdG had significant associations with volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide levels in offices, and with urinary cotinine levels. The mean urinary 8-OHdG level was also significantly higher in participants with SBS symptoms than in those without such complaints (6.16 vs. 5.45 µg/g creatinine, p = .047). The mean 8-OHdG increased as the number of SBS symptoms increased. The multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the adjusted odds ratios (OR) in relation to micrograms per gram creatinine increase in 8-OHdG were statistically significant for eye dryness (1.12), upper respiratory syndrome (1.17) with particularly nose itching (1.25), sneezing (1.51), dry throat (1.21), skin dryness (1.31), and dizziness (1.19). This study indicates that the 8-OHdG level was significantly associated with SBS complaints after controlling for air pollution and smoking. Whether the 8-OHdG can be used as an effective predictor for SBS symptoms deserves further study.Workers are considered to have sick building syndrome (SBS) when they suffer from symptoms related to eyes, nose, and throat, dry skin, headache, and/or lethargy inside a building, and the symptom complaints may ease when workers leave the (Levin, 1989). Many previous studies were conducted to investigate the etiology of the SBS, but the risk factors causally associated with SBS remain debatable

An update on sick building syndrome

“…Field studies have demonstrated associations between ocular and nasal physiological response and the indoor environment [15]. Oxidative stress has been in focus as an important mechanism behind health effects of outdoor air pollution, but it has recently been shown that oxidative stress can be important for SBS in relation to indoor chemical indoor exposure [16 ].…”

Indoor Air Quality in the Metro System in North Taiwan

“…The accumulation of indoor CO 2 , HCHO, TVOCs, O 3 , PM 10 , bacteria and fungal contamination significantly increases the risks of sick building syndrome (SBS) [6,7,8,9,10,11], and high urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels [12,13,14]. Urinary 8-OHdG is considered as a biomarker for oxidative stress and has been significantly associated with building-related complaints in office workers [14,15], the exposure to polyaromatic hydrocarbons in traffic conductors and Chinese military cooks [16,17] as well as the exposure of PM 10 and PM 2.5 in bus drivers [18]. In addition, HCHO may cause nasal and eye irritation, neurological effects, and increased risk of asthma or allergies, and is genotoxic, causing DNA adduct formation and clastogenic effects [19].…”

Allostatic Load Model Associated with Indoor Environmental Quality and Sick Building Syndrome among Office Workers

“…Therefore, 8-OHdG can be adopted as an effect marker for exposure to pollution. Furthermore, urinary 8-OHdG is associated with both indoor pollutant exposure and self-reported SBS [16], [17]. Although these studies suggest that 8-OHdG is a potential marker for reporting SBS, the etiology of SBS has yet to be fully understood, and a comprehensive approach for examining SBS is not available.…”