Sick Building Syndrome Among Junior High School Students in Japan in Relation to the Home and School Environment

Abstract

Purpose:There is an increasing concern about sick building syndrome (SBS), especially in Asia. The aim of this study is to investigate associations between SBS and the home, school environment and personal factors among Japanese junior high school students.Methods:We investigated students in four junior high schools in Hyogo in Kansai area, Japan. A questionnaire study was performed among students (n=1056), 12-15 years old. Temperature and relative air humidity was measured in the classrooms and dust was collected from the classroom floors and air and was analysed for cat and dog allergens. Associations were analysed by multi-level logistic regression.Results:Mucosal symptoms (45.4%), general symptoms (38.9%) and skin symptoms (22.6%) were common. Totally 8.8% reported cat allergy, 6.1% dog allergy, 6.0% mold allergy and 25.7% pollen allergy. Atopy, window pane condensation, floor dampness and odor at home and high relative air humidity in the classrooms were associated with SBS.Conclusion:The prevalence of SBS symptoms was high and associated with both home and school environment. Window pane condensation and floor dampness at home can increase the risk for SBS symptoms in students. Moreover high relative air humidity at school may increase the risk for SBS.

Cat, Dog and Horse Allergens in Swedish Day Care Centres-Associations with Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) among Day Care Centre Staff

“…In contrast, two school environment studies from Asia did not find any association between Fel d 1 in schools and respiratory symptoms among the students (Zhao et al, 2008;Takaoka et al, 2015). In these two studies the level of cat allergen in vacuumed dust was very low (Zhao et al, 2008;Takaoka et al, 2015). We found no previous publication on associations between cat allergen levels in schools or day care centres and FeNO levels in children or staff.…”

“…Two previous studies from Swedish schools found positive associations between the concentration of Fel d 1 in vacuumed dust from schools and the prevalence of asthma (Smedje et al, 1997) as well as the incidence of asthma (Smedje and Norbäck, 2001 among the students. In contrast, two school environment studies from Asia did not find any association between Fel d 1 in schools and respiratory symptoms among the students (Zhao et al, 2008;Takaoka et al, 2015). In these two studies the level of cat allergen in vacuumed dust was very low (Zhao et al, 2008;Takaoka et al, 2015).…”

“…In contrast, one Swedish school environment study found positive associations between the concentration of Can f 1 in vacuumed dust and wheeze and day time breathlessness in the students (Kim et al, 2005). Two other school studies from Asia found no association between Can f 1 levels in schools and respiratory symptoms in students (Zhao et al, 2008;Takaoka et al, 2015). To our knowledge, there is no previous publication available on associations between Can f 1 levels in schools or day care centres and FeNO levels in staff or children.…”

“…Sampling of settling airborne dust on Petri dishes exposed to the indoor air for a defined time (typically 1-4 weeks) has been proposed an inexpensive, simple and feasible method for assessing airborne microbial materials from mould or bacteria (Adams et al, 2015). During the last decades, Petri dish sampling has been applied to sample settling airborne allergens (Cai et al, 2011a;Cai et al, 2011b;Elfman et al, 2007;Karlsson et al, 2002;Meritt et al, 2012;Takaoka et al, 2015). In our study, there was a correlation between the concentration of cat allergen (Fel d 1) in vacuumed dust and airborne levels of cat allergen measured by Petri dish sampling (Kendal Tau beta 0.42; p<0.05).…”

Sick building syndrome: are we doing enough?

“…The occurrence of SBS can be recognized in various environments such as office spaces (Lim et al 2015;Magnavita 2015;Tsai, Lin, and Chan 2012), residential environments (Engvall et al 2010;Takigawa et al 2010Takigawa et al , 2012, schools (Norbäck et al 2016a(Norbäck et al , 2016bSaijo et al 2010;Shan et al 2016;Takaoka, Suzuki, and Norbäck 2016), universities (Ahmad and Hassim 2015) or hospitals (Chang et al 2015;Loupa, Fotopoulou, and Tsagarakis 2015;Wang et al 2015). The core symptoms of SBS may concern with the health status of occupants, either physically or mentally.…”