The effect of air humidification on different symptoms in office workers — An epidemiologic study

Abstract The effects of air humidification were studied in the Pasila Office Center, a modern eight-floor office building of 2150 workers in Helsinki, Finland. The occurrence of symptoms and complaints among the workers in the humidified part of the building (n = 122) was compared to the symptoms and complaints of workers in similar nonhumidified rooms (n = 132) in February, March, and April. The workers in the humidified part reported significantly less dryness of skin, throat and nose, and nasal obstruction as well as sensation of air dryness compared to those in the non-humidified part. There was no evidence of humidifier fever symptoms during the study period.

[1]  Peter A. Scheff,et al.  Indoor Air Pollution: Characterization, Prediction and Control , 1982 .

[2]  Olli Seppänen,et al.  Indoor air quality requirements for healthy office buildings: Recommendations based on an epidemiologic study , 1991 .

[3]  A. Nevalainen Bacterial aerosols in indoor air , 1989 .

[4]  Charles H. Hobbs,et al.  Formaldehyde release from selected consumer products: influence of chamber loading, multiple products, relative humidity, and temperature , 1984 .

[5]  L. Mølhave,et al.  A mathematical model of indoor air pollution due to formaldehyde from urea-formaldehyde glued particleboards , 1983 .

[6]  J. Sataloff,et al.  Humidity Studies and Respiratory Infections in a Public School , 1963, Clinical pediatrics.

[7]  Olli Seppänen,et al.  Sick building syndrome, sensation of dryness and thermal comfort in relation to room temperature in an office building: Need for individual control of temperature , 1989 .

[8]  K. R. Anderson,et al.  Effects of heat and humidity on the responses of exercising asthmatics to sulfur dioxide exposure. , 1985, The American review of respiratory disease.

[9]  E. Gubéran,et al.  [Does room air humidification prevent respiratory diseases in winter? An epidemiologic study on 1321 office workers]. , 1978, Schweizerische medizinische Wochenschrift.

[10]  Sale Cs,et al.  Humidification to reduce respiratory illnesses in nursery school children. , 1972 .

[11]  P. L. Jensen,et al.  Human response to 78-hour exposure to dry air. , 1974, Archives of environmental health.

[12]  E. R. Mcfadden,et al.  Influence of heat and humidity on the airway obstruction induced by exercise in asthma. , 1978, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[13]  A Hedge,et al.  Comparison of health problems related to work and environmental measurements in two office buildings with different ventilation systems. , 1985, British medical journal.

[14]  G. H. Green The positive and negative effects of building humidification , 1982 .

[15]  D. J. Horton,et al.  Effects of breathing warm humidified air on bronchoconstriction induced by body cooling and by inhalation of methacholine. , 1979, Chest.

[16]  T. Sterling,et al.  Indirect health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments. , 1986, Environmental health perspectives.

[17]  C A Pickering,et al.  The sick building syndrome: prevalence studies. , 1984, British medical journal.

[18]  J. Iravani,et al.  Influence of temperature and decreased water content of inspired air on the ciliated bronchial epithelium. A physiological and electron microscopical study. , 1977, Acta oto-laryngologica.