Asthma and respiratory symptoms in hospital workers related to dampness and biological contaminants

Cox‐Ganser, Jean M.; Rao, Carol Y.; Park, J.-H.; Schumpert, John C.; Kreiss, Kathleen

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0668.2009.00586.x

Cited by 40 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This is confirmed by the existing literature on IAQ (LeBouf et al 2008;Cox-Ganser et al 2009). The indoor environment is characterized by various pollutants, such as airborne dust, volatile organic compounds, molds, and bacteria (Cai et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Evaluation of microbiological air quality and of microclimate in university classrooms

Grisoli

Rodolfi

Chiara

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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The proliferation of air-diffused microorganisms inside public buildings such as schools, hospitals, and universities, is often indicated as a possible health risk. In this research, we have illustrated the results of an investigation realized to determine the health of the air in some university classrooms, both from a microbiological and a microclimatic viewpoint, during the normal didactic activity of direct lessons. The results obtained have been expressed by means of contamination indices, already used in previous works. Very little contamination was recorded in the different phases of air treatment, which underlines the efficiency of the system and of the maintenance protocols. The Global Index of Microbial Contamination (GIMC per cubic meter) showed a value greater than the mean during the heating period (290), while the highest values (95th percentile 1,138.45) were recorded in the period using air conditioning. The index of mesophilic bacterial contamination, though it did not show any significant differences in the various modes of air treatment, showed a mean value (1.34) and the 95th percentile value (4.14), which was greater in the air-conditioning phase. Finally, the mean value of the amplification index underlined a decrease in the microbial contamination in comparison to the outside, while showing situations of increased microbial amplification during the period of simple ventilation (95th percentile 4.27). The 95th percentile values found for GICM in the three sampling periods, however, permitted us to identify the value of GIMC per cubic meter equal to 1,000 as a guide to provide a means of self-monitoring the quality of the air inside the classrooms. From a microclimatic viewpoint, two periods of the year manifested discomfort situations: during the heating phase (winter) and during the simple ventilation phase (spring). The results obtained indicate, therefore, a need to intervene on the environmental parameters, not being able, in this particular case, to intervene on other aspects that influence the microclimate.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Evaluation of microbiological air quality and of microclimate in university classrooms

Grisoli

Rodolfi

Chiara

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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“…In this study, the particle concentrations were generally higher in the indoor air than those reported earlier in the study concerning an office in Espoo, Finland's second biggest city [24]. The particle counts in the indoor air were higher in schools and hospitals situated abroad than in the present study, but the measurement range was also wider (mostly 0.02-1 μm) and, therefore, the direct comparison is not possible [29][30][31][32]. The counts of ≥ 0.5 μm particles in the indoor air were lower (excluding special rooms, e.g.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Indoor air particles in office buildings with suspected indoor air problems in the Helsinki area

Lappalainen¹,

Salonen²,

Salmi³

et al. 2013

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

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Objectives: Airborne particle concentrations can be used as quality indicators of indoor environments. The previous lack of reference data has limited the use of particle measurements in office environments. The aim of this study was to describe the concentrations of airborne particles (≥ 0.5 μm and ≥ 5.0 μm) in 122 Finnish office buildings with suspected indoor air problems. Materials and Methods: The database consisted of indoor air and supply air particle samples collected in 2001-2006 from the Helsinki area. The particle concentrations (≥ 0.5 μm and ≥ 5.0 μm) were measured in the indoor air (528 samples from 122 office rooms) and in the supply air (384 samples from 105 office rooms) with an optical particle counter. Airborne particle concentrations ≥ 0.5 μm were categorized according to the efficiency of supply air filtration and health survey data. Results: The mean concentrations in the indoor air equaled 1900 particles/l and in the supply air 1300 particles/l. The efficiency of supply air filtration decreased the fine particles counts in both the indoor and supply air. The counts of large particles, ≥ 5.0 μm, were low in the indoor air. Airborne counts of ≥ 0.5 μm particles (geometric mean) were statistically higher in the offices whose occupants had work-related symptoms (eye and/or upper respiratory symptoms or upper respiratory infections) than in the offices whose occupants had no such symptoms. However, the symptoms may also be linked to other indoor air problems or particle characteristics not studied in this work. Conclusions: This study indicates typical airborne particle levels (≥ 0.5 μm and ≥ 5.0 μm) in Finnish office buildings with suspected indoor air problems. The results can be used to evaluate the quality of indoor environment, possible indoor air problems, and the need for additional investigations.

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“…Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate indoor biological content (Singh and Singh 1996;Cox-Ganser et al 2009;Rao et al 2007;Salo et al 2008), however, only a limited number of studies have been conducted regarding outdoor microbial content, particularly in the upper atmospheric environments. Fulton (1966) studied the micro-population up to an altitude of 3,127 m and found that the micropopulation was more stable at higher altitude than that at lower altitude.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the biological content of air samples collected at ground level and at higher elevation

Dong

et al. 2010

Aerobiologia

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In this study, air samples were collected simultaneously at ground level and from a broadcast tower (open space) 238 m high using two BioSamplers and two portable Biostage impactors. The sampling lasted up to 5 h, from morning to afternoon, and the experiments were independently conducted twice. The samples collected by the BioSamplers were analyzed for bacterial diversity and concentration, endotoxin and (1,3)-b-D-glucan content. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting, DNA sequencing, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) were used for the analyses. Air samples collected by the portable Biostage impactors were directly incubated at 25°C, and the culturable bacteria and fungi concentrations were manually counted. The results from the culture analysis indicated that the ground air samples had higher (statistically significant) concentrations of culturable bacteria and fungi than those taken at an elevation of 238 m. DGGE profiles of PCR products showed similar bacterial diversity in both ground-level and elevated air samples. Pseudomonas was identified by DNA sequencing as the predominant bacterial genus present. The SYBR qPCR tests revealed that the pooled air samples from both the ground and elevated levels had similar total bacterial concentrations, about 1,000 times their culturable ones. Although the endotoxin and (1,3)-b-D-glucan concentrations were observed to vary over the time, no statistically significant differences were observed in the pooled air samples from the ground and elevated levels over the course of the day. The results from this study elucidated the microbial differences in air at different elevations, and added to the body of evidence of atmospheric mixing of biological agents.

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Asthma and respiratory symptoms in hospital workers related to dampness and biological contaminants

Abstract: In healthcare facilities with indoor dampness and microbial contamination, possible associations between such conditions and respiratory health effects should be considered. Good building maintenance and housekeeping procedures should lead to improvements in employee respiratory health.

Cited by 40 publications

References 34 publications

Evaluation of microbiological air quality and of microclimate in university classrooms

Evaluation of microbiological air quality and of microclimate in university classrooms

Indoor air particles in office buildings with suspected indoor air problems in the Helsinki area

Comparison of the biological content of air samples collected at ground level and at higher elevation

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