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http://dx.doi.org/10.5668/JEHS.2009.35.6.468

The Association of Subjective Symptoms of Students and Indoor Air Quality in Private Academic Facilities  

Jung, Kyung-Sick (Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Soonchunhyang University)
Kim, Nam-Soo (Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Soonchunhyang University)
Lee, Jong-Dae (Department of Environmental Health Science, Soonchunhyang University)
HwangBo, Young (Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Soonchunhyang University)
Son, Bu-Soon (Department of Environmental Health Science, Soonchunhyang University)
Lee, Byung-Kook (Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Soonchunhyang University)
Publication Information
Journal of Environmental Health Sciences / v.35, no.6, 2009 , pp. 468-477 More about this Journal
Abstract
To evaluate the current indoor air quality condition of private academic facilities in Korea and investigate its association with subjective symptoms of student residing at the same academic facilities, air quality monitoring was carried out in total of 20 academic facilities located in Seoul, Daejon and Chungnam from the beginning of January to the end of April, 2009. To assess the air quality condition of academic facilities, 6 air pollutants with temperature and humidity were measured simultaneously inside and outside of academic facilities. The rate of exceeding the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) guideline concentrations in 6 air pollutants were 5%, 85%, 15%, 5%, 10% and 30% for CO, $CO_2$, PM10, HCHO, TVOCs and TBC, respectively. A questionnaire on 16 subjective symptoms related to indoor air quality was given to 342 students who studied at the 20 academic facilities. The most frequent symptom of students was 'I feel easily tired or sleepy', and this was followed by 'I feel muscular pain or stiffness on shoulder, back and neck'. The association of net difference (subjective symptoms at the academic facility - subjective symptoms of the usual situation) with air pollutants was analyzed using spearman rank correlation. In logistic analysis using proportional odds method, the students whose indoor air concentration of HCHO was ${\geq}60{\mu}g/m^3$ hadsignificant odds of having more subjective symptoms of 'My eyes are dry or feel irritated or itching' (OR=5.026: CI=1.587-15.911), 'I feel easily tired or sleepy' (OR=2.956: CI=1.072-8.152), 'I lose my concentration and I feel my memory is falling' (OR=7.745: CI=1.938-30.955) and 'I feel dizzy' (OR=4.424: CI=1.292-15.149) than those of <$60{\mu}g/m^3$.
Keywords
academic facilities; indoor air quality; air pollutants; subjective symptoms;
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