Sick building syndrome in an office building formerly used by a pharmaceutical company: a case study

Persistent allergic rhinitis and indoor air quality perception--an experimental approach

In order to compare patterns of indoor air perception, including perceptions of temperature, air movement, indoor air quality (IAQ), mental concentration, and comfort, 33 subjects either with persistent allergic rhinitis or controls were exposed to different temperatures and constant relative humidity in an experimental office environment. Results were obtained by means of a self-administered visual analogue scale, analyzed using mean score comparisons and principal component analysis. At 14 degrees C, the rhinitis group reported higher scores for sensations of air dryness than controls. At 18 degrees C, in the rhinitis group, there was a correlation between dry, stagnant air, and difficult mental concentration. This group also correlated heat, dry air, and poor IAQ, in contrast to the control group, which correlated comfort, easy mental concentration, and freshness. At 22 degrees C, the rhinitis group correlated heat, dryness, stagnant air, and overall discomfort. This group also correlated non-dry air, freshness, and comfort, whereas the control group correlated heat, humidity, good indoor air, freshness, and comfort. This study suggests that the rhinitis group perceives indoor temperatures of 14 degrees C as dryer than controls do, and that at 18 and 22 degrees C this group positively correlates different adverse perceptions of IAQ. By means of a self-administered questionnaire in an experimental condition, the present study compares subjective patterns of indoor air perception from individuals with respiratory allergy (allergic rhinitis) to control individuals. It reports different patterns of perception of indoor air quality (IAQ) between the two groups, suggesting that allergic individuals could have different IAQ perception.

No consistent risk factor pattern for symptoms related to the sick building syndrome: a prospective population based study

OBJECTIVES

To examine associations between perceived indoor environment at work and the non-specific symptoms that are often referred to as the sick building syndrome (SBS), using cross-sectional and prospective analyses for a large cohort from the general population.

METHODS

The sample comprised 2,164 adults in employment, who completed a postal questionnaire in April 2001. Of these 1,402, who were still working and living in the same place, completed a second questionnaire a year later. The outcome measures were the prevalence of mucous membrane symptoms and general symptoms at baseline and the incidence and persistence of these symptoms at follow-up. Self-reports of the indoor environment from the baseline questionnaire were used as predictors in the analyses.

RESULTS

Inconsistent results were found between the cross-sectional and the longitudinal analyses for the associations between perceived indoor environment factors at work and symptoms. Whereas mucous membrane symptoms in the cross-sectional analysis were significantly associated with self-reported high temperature and dry air, the prospective analyses showed that onset of mucous membrane symptoms was associated with the sensation of draught, dry air, and noise. Persistent mucous membrane symptoms were associated only with stuffy air. General symptoms were associated with self-reported stuffy air and dry air in the cross-sectional analysis, while draught was the only predictor of onset of general symptoms. We found no predictors in the indoor environment for the persistence of general symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The symptoms that are often connected with SBS are very common symptoms in the general population among manual workers as well as non-manual workers. Our study gives only limited support to the hypothesis of causal relationships between the indoor environment and these symptoms. We found no evidence of persistent mucous membrane symptoms and general symptoms related to specific factors in the indoor environment.