A study of indoor carbon dioxide levels and sick leave among office workers

Myatt, Theodore A.; Staudenmayer, John; Adams, Kate; Walters, Michael D.; Rudnick, Stephen N.; Milton, Donald K.

doi:10.1186/1476-069x-1-3

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Some studies, however, have found no changes in health effects with changes in VR within a high range of VRs; e.g., for respiratory infections [16], and for symptoms [17]. This fits with theoretical predictions that at higher VRs, concentrations of indoor-generated pollutants are not much reduced by further increased VR [3].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 51%

“…The findings might be interpreted as additional evidence for a high range of VRs within which increased VRs will not substantially reduce illness absence, as suggested in prior reviews [1,3,4]. Myatt et al [16], for instance, also found no associations with respiratory infections within a range of very high VRs. However, it would be premature to consider findings for the specific VR range studied here to be generalizable: this study included only a convenience sample of buildings in California, health effects studied were self-reported, VRs in this study were likely to be overestimated, and VR effects in any building would depend on the specific mix and source strengths of indoor air pollutants there.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

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A longitudinal study of ventilation rates in California office buildings and self-reported occupant outcomes including respiratory illness absence

Mendell

Eliseeva

Spears

et al. 2015

Building and Environment

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a b s t r a c tBackground: Limited evidence has associated lower ventilation rates (VRs) in offices with higher illnessrelated absence rates. Methods: We studied spaces in office buildings, selected without knowledge of their VRs, in three California climate zones. In each study space, real-time logging sensors measured carbon dioxide and thermal parameters for one year. Web-based surveys every three months collected data on occupants' health outcomes. Using multivariate models, relationships were assessed between CO 2 concentrations, or VRs estimated from CO 2 , and adverse occupant outcomes including respiratory infections and illness absences. For all outcomes, positive associations were hypothesized with higher CO 2 levels (and negative associations with higher VRs). Results: Low survey response limited sample size and study power. In the 16 study spaces, CO 2 concentrations were uniformly low over the year, and most estimated VRs ranged from twice to nine times the California office minimum VR standard (7 L/s or 15 cfm per person). Primary CO 2 and VR metrics had no statistically significant relationships with occupant outcomes. Conclusions: Within the observed range of uniformly low CO 2 and high VRs (mostly 16e42 L/s per person), little variation in contaminant concentrations would be expected, which would explain lack of relationships with occupant outcomes. These high VRs resulted partly from frequently used energysaving "economizer" cycles in moderate California climates, but VRs at other times also substantially exceeded required VRs. These findings suggest, consistent with theory, that within a higher VR range, increased VRs do not reduce respiratory illness. Further studies are needed to better characterize such relationships.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

A longitudinal study of ventilation rates in California office buildings and self-reported occupant outcomes including respiratory illness absence

Mendell

Eliseeva

Spears

et al. 2015

Building and Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In an observa tional study, Milton et al (8) found an association between sickness absence and lower ventilation rates per person in offices. However, in an experimental intervention study, no relation between ventilation rate and sick leave was found (9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Sickness absence associated with shared and open-plan offices – a national cross sectional questionnaire survey

Pejtersen¹,

Feveile²,

Christensen³

et al. 2011

Scand J Work Environ Health

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The following articles refer to this text: 2011;37 (5) Original article Scand J Work Environ Health 2011;37(5):376-382. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3167 Sickness absence associated with shared and open-plan offices -a national cross sectional questionnaire survey Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether shared and open-plan offices are associated with more days of sickness absence than cellular offices comprising one occupant. MethodsThe analysis was based on a national survey of Danish inhabitants between 18-59 years of age (response rate 62%), and the study population consisted of the 2403 employees that reported working in offices. The different types of offices were characterized according to self-reported number of occupants in the space. The log-linear Poisson model was used to model the number of self-reported sickness absence days depending on the type of office; the analysis was adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and physical activity during leisure time.Results Sickness absence was significantly related to having a greater number of occupants in the office (P<0.001) when adjusting for confounders. Compared to cellular offices, occupants in 2-person offices had 50% more days of sickness absence [rate ratio (RR) 1.50, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.13-1.98], occupants in 3-6-person offices had 36% more days of sickness absence (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.08-1.73), and occupants in open-plan offices (>6 persons) had 62% more days of sickness absence (RR 1.62, 95% CI 1.30-2.02). ConclusionOccupants sharing an office and occupants in open-plan offices (>6 occupants) had significantly more days of sickness absence than occupants in cellular offices.

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“…The case study was executed in two office buildings occupied by Polaroid Corporation's workers and located in Boston, USA. The authors did not find a consistent positive relationship between sick leave and the ventilation rate difference between 40 L/s/person and 45 L/s/person [33]. This finding is backed by a recent review of scientific literature through 2005 on the effects of ventilation rates on health by Sundell et al [6] and an international expert panel.…”

Section: Estimation Of the Economic Benefits Of The Investment With Rmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Myatt et al [33] investigate whether a positive association exists between very high ventilation rates and sick leaves. The case study was executed in two office buildings occupied by Polaroid Corporation's workers and located in Boston, USA.…”

Section: Estimation Of the Economic Benefits Of The Investment With Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing Indoor Air Quality Benefits in a Healthcare Construction Project with Real Option Analysis

2014

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Indoor air quality (IAQ) can produce significant economic benefits for the tenant during the use of the building. However, currently the potential economic benefits on a tenant's employees' health and performance are not considered in feasibility studies for IAQ investments. Here, the economic value refers to benefits that can be expressed numerically in terms of money such as cost savings and increased revenues and that which impacts the building user organization's financial profitability. This paper is one of the first known studies to explore real option analysis (ROA) as a potential approach to evaluate the life-cycle profitability of investments in IAQ. The research is carried out as a case study, which is a healthcare construction project in Finland. The main finding of this paper is that ROA seems to provide a viable method for the evaluation of investments in IAQ. In the case study, the economic benefits of IAQ to the tenant are noticeable. The real option value of the economic benefits of better IAQ is almost 4 million euros and the real option pay-off of the IAQ investment exceeds 0.5 million euros. The results are indicative only but imply that ROA is a promising method to evaluate investments in IAQ.

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A study of indoor carbon dioxide levels and sick leave among office workers

Cited by 30 publications

References 21 publications

A longitudinal study of ventilation rates in California office buildings and self-reported occupant outcomes including respiratory illness absence

A longitudinal study of ventilation rates in California office buildings and self-reported occupant outcomes including respiratory illness absence

Sickness absence associated with shared and open-plan offices – a national cross sectional questionnaire survey

Valuing Indoor Air Quality Benefits in a Healthcare Construction Project with Real Option Analysis

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