Associations between indoor environment in residential buildings in wet and dry seasons and health of students in upper northern Thailand

Abstract

We performed a repeated questionnaire study on home environment and health (six medical symptoms) in 1159 junior high school students (age 12.8 ± 0.7 years) in upper northern Thailand in wet and dry seasons. Data on outdoor temperature, relative humidity (RH), and air pollution were collected from nearest monitoring station. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated by multi‐level logistic regression. Most common symptoms were rhinitis (62.5%), headache (49.8%), throat (42.8%), and ocular symptoms (42.5%). Ocular symptoms were more common at lower RH and rhinitis more common in dry season. Water leakage (28.2%), indoor mold (7.1%), mold odor (4.1%), and windowpane condensation (13.6%) were associated with all six symptoms (ORs: 1.3–3.5). Other risk factors included cat keeping, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), other odor than mold odor, gas cooking, and cooking with biomass fire. Biomass burning inside and outside the home for other reasons than cooking was associated with all six symptoms (ORs: 1.5–2.6). Associations between home environment exposure and rhinitis were stronger in wet season. In conclusion, dampness‐related exposure, windowpane condensation, cat keeping, ETS, gas cooking, and biomass burning can impair adolescent health in upper northern Thailand. In subtropical areas, environmental health effects should be investigated in wet and dry seasons.

Relationship between Indoor Living Environment and Housing Prices: A Case Study of the Taojinjiayuan Residential Quarter in Guangzhou, China

“…Indoor air quality (IAQ) is closely related to human health and is an environmental comfort factor that affects housing prices. The level of indoor air pollution in residential buildings is an important consideration for residents' marginal willingness to pay for clean air, and pollutants include [1] airborne fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from 3 Indoor Air household gas cooking and heating [27,49]; [2] volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene) from renovation materials; [3] semivolatile organic compounds from plasticizers in indoor electronics and household products [50]; and [4] biological pollutants (bacteria, fungi, and dust mites) from daily life [4,51]. For the same residential quarter, the outdoor air quality is basically the same, whereas indoor air pollution is exposed to occupantspecific behavioral factors, such as using poor-quality building materials for renovation, purchasing formaldehyde-excessive furniture, smoking, and cooking with gas.…”

“…In general, housing prices increase as the distance from the major business center decreases [24]. Finally, external environmental factors (mainly the physical environment or landscape) include inner-city green landscapes [25,26], parks [27], watersheds [28], and not-in-my-back-yard (NIMBY) facilities [29,30]. For example, Trojanek et al analyzed the effect of proximity to urban green spaces on apartment prices in Warsaw and found that green spaces within 100 m of an apartment increased residential prices by 2.8% to 3.1% [31].…”

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Impacts Related to Mould-Affected Housing: An Australian Integrative Review

“…A worldwide study of both affluent (highincome) and non-affluent countries reported that up to 47% of homes have the presence of damp or indoor mould [15]. Although few studies exist in tropical regions, a recent study in southern India reported that 50% of homes had dampness problems [16] and a study in northern Thailand reported on indoor mould present in both the "dry" and "wet" seasons in 7.1% of homes and water leakage affecting 28.2% of homes [17]. Despite improvements in building regulations and housing codes in developed countries [18][19][20] and our increased understanding of key building, socioeconomic and occupancy risk factors for indoor mould [1], mould-affected housing is still a persistent and common problem worldwide.…”