Personal, Psychosocial and Environmental Factors Related to Sick Building Syndrome in Official Employees of Taiwan

Abstract

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a combination of symptoms that can be attributed to exposure to specific building conditions. The present study recruited 389 participants aged 20–65 years from 87 offices of 16 institutions to examine if personal factors, work-related psychosocial stress, and work environments, were associated with five groups of SBS symptoms, including symptoms for eyes, upper respiratory tract, lower respiratory tract, skin, and non-specific systems. Indoor environmental conditions were monitored. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression (MLR) analyses and were reported as adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR). SBS symptoms for eyes were associated with older age, sensitivity to tobacco, and low indoor air flow. Upper respiratory symptoms were related to smoking, low social support, longer work days, and dry air. High indoor air flow was associated with reduced upper respiratory symptoms (aOR = 0.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.13–0.67). Lower respiratory symptoms were associated with high work pressure, longer work hours, chemical exposure, migraine, and exposure to new interior painting. Recent interior painting exposure was associated with a high estimated relative risk of low respiratory symptoms (aOR = 20.6; 95% CI = 2.96–143). Smoking, longer work days, low indoor air flow, indoor dryness, and volatile organics exposure, were associated with other non-specified symptoms including headache, tiredness, difficulty concentrating, anger, and dizziness. In conclusion, there are various SBS symptoms associated with different personal characteristics, psychosocial, and environmental factors. Psychosocial factors had stronger relationships with lower respiratory symptoms than with other types of SBS symptoms. Good ventilation could reduce risk factors and may relieve SBS symptoms.

Pogostnost sindroma bolnih stavb v bolnišnicah v povezavi z okoljskimi dejavniki

“…Rezultate naše raziskave lahko primerjamo z rezultati tajvanske raziskave (Lu, et al, 2017), ki je bila narejena na vzorcu 389 pisarniških delavcev, starih od 20 do 65 let. Rezultati navajajo, da je pogostost simptomov SBS (draženje očesnih veznic) povezana s slabo kakovostjo zraka v delovnem okolju, starostjo in občutljivostjo na cigaretni dim.…”

Knowledge Graphs for Analyzing Thermal Comfort: A Proposal

“…This heterogeneity relates to differences among the sources with respect to formats, amount of data issued, acquisition speed, meaning, among others [5,9,11,13]. In the case of the analysis of thermal comfort, it is possible to identify the need for physical and physiological data that comes naturally from heterogeneous sources [11,17,18].…”

“…Concerning the space itself and its external environment, variables such as radial temperature and relative humidity are of importance, while regarding the occupants, variables of interest are for instance the body mass index and the level of isolation of thermal clothing [11,17,20]. Based on this discussion, the approaches for the study of Thermal Comfort are two [10,13,17,18]: Thermal Comfort involves then the analysis of a highly complex context, that can be easily influenced by a large number of aspects [10,17,19]. However, in spite of being a highly studied topic, it is commonly tackled with a traditional perspective.…”

“…However, in spite of being a highly studied topic, it is commonly tackled with a traditional perspective. The study of TC considering other physiological or even psychological variables is then of relevance [17,18].…”

Methods for Early Detection of Microbiological Infestation of Buildings Based on Gas Sensor Technologies

“…Initially, this problem mainly concerned the office space, but over time, it has been noted that it may also affect the living quarters [4,22,23]. The moisture in buildings and, thus, the presence of mold and its metabolites are indicated as the most likely cause of SBS [20,[24][25][26]. A detailed understanding of its causes and consequences is essential for people's health and the performance of buildings.…”