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Paper 11
Paper 11
Paper 11
World Health Organization (WHO). Indoor Air Pollutants: Exposure and Health
Effects. Copenhagen: WHO 1983. EURO Reports and Studies,no 78.
SBS
• Non specific symptoms
• Headaches
• eye, nose, and throat irritation
• a dry cough
• dry or itchy skin
• dizziness and nausea
• difficulty in concentrating; fatigue and
• sensitivity to odors.
SBS
• Outcome = Non specific symptoms
• Exposure = Factors in the environment
BRI
• BRI, distinguished by objective findings
underlying pathologic diagnoses, include
hypersensitivity, pneumonitis, asthma, and
infections such as legionellosis.
BRI
• Less often, but often more serious & are accompanied
by very definite clinical signs & clear laboratory findings
• Hypersensitivity
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis,
- Humidifier fever,
- Asthma
- Rhinitis,
- Dermatitis
• Infections
- Legionnaire’s disease and Pontiac fever
- Tuberculosis (TB),
- Common cold
Prevalence of SBS
• The prevalence of sick building syndrome in
Malaysia is unknown.
• No country-wide based study has been
conducted using stratified random sampling of
buildings and their occupants,
• Published studies on SBS on sampled
occupants in limited selected buildings
conducted by local researchers.
• The reported SBS in 3 local studies reported a
pooled SBS prevalence ranging from 32.3 –
68.8 per cent.
References
• Syazwan Aizat et al (2009). Indoor air quality and sick
building syndrome in Malaysian buildings. Global Journal
of Health Science, 1(2):126-136
• Z Sulaiman and M. Mohamed (2011). Indoor Air Quality
and Sick Building Syndrome at two selected libraries in
Johor Bahru Malaysia. Environment Asia 4(1), 67-74
• Nur Fadilah R and Juliana J (2012) Indoor Air Quality
and Sick Building Syndrome among office workers in
new and old building in UPM. Health and the
Environment Journal Vol. 3, No.2
Preliminary results*
• N= 213
• Age
a) min-max = 22-57 years old
b) mean±sd= 35.5±9.6
• Mean work duration 7.3 years
• Prevalence of SBS 5.7%
• Air temperature 23 – 26 oC
• Relative humidity 40-70%
• Air movement 0.15 – 0.50 m/s
*ASHRAE
SUMMARY
• Maintenance of HVAC system and regular
audit is one major method of reducing
SBS and the way forward is to adopt or
adapt the LEED Green Building
Certification System.
Duke University Press, 2006.