Associations between indoor CO2 concentrations and sick building syndrome symptoms in US office buildings: An analysis of the 1994-1996 BASE study data
Mg. Apte et al., Associations between indoor CO2 concentrations and sick building syndrome symptoms in US office buildings: An analysis of the 1994-1996 BASE study data, INDOOR AIR, 10(4), 2000, pp. 246-257
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Environmental Engineering & Energy
Journal title
INDOOR AIR-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND CLIMATE
Higher indoor concentrations of air pollutants due, in part, to lower venti
lation rates are a potential cause of sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms
in office workers. The indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is an app
roximate surrogate for indoor concentrations of other occupant-generated po
llutants and for ventilation rate per occupant. Using multivariate logistic
regression (MLR) analyses, we evaluated the relationship between indoor CO
2 concentrations and SBS symptoms in occupants from a probability sample of
41 U.S. office buildings. Two CO2 metrics were constructed: average workda
y indoor minus average outdoor CO2 (dCO(2), range 6-418 ppm), and maximum i
ndoor 1-h moving average CO2 minus outdoor CO2 concentrations (dCO(2)MAX).
MLR analyses quantified dCO(2)/SBS symptom associations, adjusting for pers
onal and environmental factors. A dose-response relationship (p<0.05) with
odds ratios per 100 ppm dCO(2) ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 for sore throat, nos
e/sinus, tight chest, and wheezing was observed. The dCO(2)MAX/SBS regressi
on results were similar.