Building health: an epidemiological study of “sick building syndrome” in the Whitehall II study

Occupational and Environmental Medicine - Tập 63 Số 4 - Trang 283-289 - 2006
A Marmot1, J. William Eley1, Mai Stafford2, Stephen Stansfeld3, Phillip E. Warwick4, Michael Marmot4
1AMA, Linton House, London, UK
2University College London Medical School, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK
3Centre for Psychiatry, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical Sciences Building, London, UK
4Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London Medical School, London, UK

Tóm tắt

Objectives:Sick building syndrome (SBS) is described as a group of symptoms attributed to the physical environment of specific buildings. Isolating particular environmental features responsible for the symptoms has proved difficult. This study explores the role and significance of the physical and psychosocial work environment in explaining SBS.Methods:Cross sectional data on the physical environment of a selection of buildings were added to individual data from the Whitehall II study—an ongoing health survey of office based civil servants. A self-report questionnaire was used to capture 10 symptoms of the SBS and psychosocial work stress. In total, 4052 participants aged 42–62 years working in 44 buildings were included in this study.Results:No significant relation was found between most aspects of the physical work environment and symptom prevalence, adjusted for age, sex, and employment grade. Positive (non-significant) relations were found only with airborne bacteria, inhalable dust, dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, and having some control over the local physical environment. Greater effects were found with features of the psychosocial work environment including high job demands and low support. Only psychosocial work characteristics and control over the physical environment were independently associated with symptoms in the multivariate analysis.Conclusions:The physical environment of office buildings appears to be less important than features of the psychosocial work environment in explaining differences in the prevalence of symptoms.

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Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Tập 63 Số 4

283-289

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