Prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome - Related Factors among Hospital Workers at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Poor indoor air quality is one of the most important factor causing occupational health problems such as sick building syndrome (SBS). Most previous research on risk factors of SBS is evaluated in the office or school environments rather than in the hospital. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of SBS and its related effect on hospital workers in poorly-ventilated and confined working environments through a set of the questionnaires completed from March to June of 2017. The relationship between SBS-Related symptoms, individual characteristics, work environment and conditions were analyzed using Poisson regression. The prevalence of sick building syndrome was 70.1%. The most common symptoms reported by hospital workers include fatigue, headache, and feeling heavy-headed. There was a significant relationship between the prevalence of syndrome and sex, overload of work, atopy as well as varying room temperature.

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Sick building symptoms among hospital workers associated with indoor air quality and personal factors

Indoor and Built Environment ◽

10.1177/1420326x19855117 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 645-655 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ulken Tunga Babaoglu ◽

Fikriye Milletli Sezgin ◽

Funda Yag

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Sick Building Syndrome ◽

Upper Respiratory Tract ◽

Personal Factors ◽

Hospital Workers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sick Building

This study assesses the interior air quality and infective factors in a hospital in Turkey to provide data about air quality to protect hospital workers. This study measured indoor air quality in eight different locations in a hospital, including particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM1), carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature, humidity and microbiological matter. The highest PM2.5 and PM1 concentrations were in emergency service, and the highest CO2 was measured in the paediatric clinic. The poor interior air quality results are the most important cross-sectional data. For all participants, the prevalence of eye, upper respiratory tract, lower respiratory tract, skin and non-specific sick building syndrome symptoms were 23.0%, 40.7%, 22.5%, 36.3% and 63.7%, respectively. When sick building syndrome symptoms and environmental factors were investigated, skin symptoms increased 1.82 times in areas with stagnant air flow (p = 0.046; OR = 1.823; 95% CI: 1.010–3.290). Non-specific symptoms increased 2.17 times in locations with dry indoor air (p = 0.039; OR = 2.176; 95% CI: 1.041–4.549). Hospital workers are exposed to conditions that may increase the risk of a variety of sick building syndrome symptoms. Although the air quality measurements were not above the recommended limits in the hospital, long-term exposures should be considered for those experiencing sick building syndrome-related symptoms.

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Experimental and Numerical Model Investigations of Oxygen-Enriched Characteristics in Air-Conditioned Rooms

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11114733 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 4733

Author(s):

Chuanzhao Zhang ◽

Xiong Yang ◽

Ziyi Li ◽

Yingshu Liu ◽

Yu Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Numerical Model ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Oxygen Supply ◽

Sick Building Syndrome ◽

Building Energy ◽

Axial Distance ◽

Supply Pipe ◽

Sick Building ◽

The Relationship

People who live and work in air-conditioned rooms with micro-hypoxia are prone to sick building syndrome (SBS). Enriching oxygen into an air-conditioned room to increase the oxygen concentration can improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and reduce ventilation to save building energy consumption. In the present paper, the number and diameter of the oxygen supply vents, the oxygen supply flow rate, the oxygen supply method and the air flow organization form were comparatively studied using a numerical model. The results were compared with the experiments results in un-air-conditioned rooms, which showed that this model can give a favorable prediction. The results show that the maximum axial velocity decreases with the increase of the axial distance under air-conditioned conditions. The relationship between the oxygen-enriched area and the oxygen flow rate is obtained by fitting. The diameter of the oxygen supply pipe is 0.006 m, and when oxygen supply methods 1# and 4# are adopted, the oxygen-enriched area is F = 0.4 + 0.383 Q and F = 0.237 + 0.8 Q, respectively.

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An investigation of the relationship between microbial and particulate indoor air pollution and the sick building syndrome

Respiratory Medicine ◽

10.1016/s0954-6111(06)80060-0 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 86 (3) ◽

pp. 225-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

J. Harrison ◽

C.A.C. Pickering ◽

E.B. Faragher ◽

P.K.C. Austwick ◽

S.A. Little ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Indoor Air Pollution ◽

Sick Building Syndrome ◽

Sick Building ◽

The Relationship

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Effects of a Furniture-integrated Breathing-zone Filtration System on Indoor Air Quality, Sick Building Syndrome, and Productivity

Indoor Air ◽

10.1111/j.1600-0668.1993.00016.x ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 328-336 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alan Hedge ◽

George E. Mitchell ◽

John F. McCarthy ◽

Jerry Ludwig

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Sick Building Syndrome ◽

Breathing Zone ◽

Filtration System ◽

Sick Building

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INDOOR AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT FOR A MULTISTOREY UNIVERSITY OFFICE BUILDING IN MALAYSIA

Journal of Green Building ◽

10.3992/1943-4618.14.4.93 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 93-109

Author(s):

Abd Halid Abdullah ◽

Yee Yong Lee ◽

Eeydzah Aminudin ◽

Yeong Huei Lee

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Work Performance ◽

Sick Building Syndrome ◽

Office Building ◽

Physical Parameters ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Air Quality Assessment ◽

Sick Building

The indoor air quality (IAQ) in office buildings should be assessed for public health concerns as it relates to work performance and productivity. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the IAQ in a university office building. From this investigation, the level of contaminated indoor air is examined, the significant causes and contributing factors of contaminated indoor air are determined and a recommendation to improve the existing condition has been proposed. The physical parameters measured include air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, and concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and also air particles. It was found that the number of air particles of 0.5 μm in diameter is about 197,748 particles/m3, while air particles of 5.0 μm in diameter is around 534 particles/m3. The collected data were then compared with a questionnaire and IAQ standards. In conclusion, the indoor air quality within the multi-storey central office building of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) is acceptable and suitable for occupation even though there were countable symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) among its occupants.

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