Associations of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, air temperature, and humidity with perceived air quality and sick building syndrome symptoms in Chinese homes

Jing Hou; Yuexia Sun; Xilei Dai; Junjie Liu; Xiong Shen; Hongwei Tan; Haiguo Yin; Kailiang Huang; Yao Gao; Dayi Lai; Weiping Hong; Xinping Zhai; Dan Norbäck; Qingyan Chen

doi:10.1111/ina.12810

Associations of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, air temperature, and humidity with perceived air quality and sick building syndrome symptoms in Chinese homes

Indoor Air. 2021 Jul;31(4):1018-1028. doi: 10.1111/ina.12810. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Authors

Jing Hou¹, Yuexia Sun¹, Xilei Dai¹, Junjie Liu¹, Xiong Shen¹, Hongwei Tan², Haiguo Yin³, Kailiang Huang⁴, Yao Gao⁵, Dayi Lai^{1

6}, Weiping Hong¹, Xinping Zhai³, Dan Norbäck⁷, Qingyan Chen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Lab. of Indoor Air Environmental Quality Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
² School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
³ School of Building Services Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
⁴ Department of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, China.
⁵ Shenzhen Institute of Building Research Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
⁶ Department of Architecture, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University and University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
⁸ School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.

PMID: 33620091
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12810

Abstract

The indoor environment influences occupants' health. From March 1, 2018, to February 28, 2019, we continuously monitored indoor temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and CO₂ concentration in bedrooms via an online system in 165 residences that covered all five climate zones of China. Meanwhile, we asked one specific occupant in each home to complete questionnaires about perceived air quality and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms at the end of each month. Higher CO₂ concentration was significantly associated with a higher percentage of perceived stuffy odor and skin SBS symptoms. Higher relative humidity was associated with higher percentage of perceived moldy odor and humid air, while lower RH was associated with a higher percentage of perceived dry air. Occupants who lived in residences with high RH were less likely to have mucosal and skin SBS symptoms (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.73-0.78). However, the benefit of high humidity for perceived dry air and skin dryness symptoms is weaker if there is a high CO₂ concentration level.

Keywords: CO2; home; odors; perceived dry air; relative humidity; sick building syndrome.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollution*
Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
Carbon Dioxide
China / epidemiology
Humans
Humidity
Sick Building Syndrome* / epidemiology
Sick Building Syndrome* / etiology
Temperature

Substances

Carbon Dioxide