Important Factors Affecting the Quality of Indoor Air and a Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Indoor air quality is critical for human health, and as such, it must be continuously improved. As a result, it is critical to identify the factors influencing indoor air quality. In this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing indoor air quality and to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the studies on the subject. The method of bibliometric analysis was used to examine academic publications on indoor air quality published between 1975 and 2020. A total of 2398 academic studies from the Web of Science database were examined. According to the findings of the analyses, academic research has primarily been conducted in the fields of construction technology and environmental sciences, public environmental occupational health, and environmental engineering. Since 2010, there has been a significant increase in the number of publications. The year with the most publications was 2017, and especially after 2010, publications have been cited more and more. One-fourth of the publications were produced solely in the United States. Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Denmark Technical University had the most publications. It has been determined that ventilation and air flow rate are the most heavily researched factors affecting indoor air quality. On the other hand, a substantial amount of research has been conducted to investigate the effects of pollutants. Furthermore, publications on temperature, humidity, bacteria, and thermal comfort were discovered. There have been studies on indoor air quality in residential buildings, houses, schools, and hospitals.