Sick building syndrome symptoms — Different prevalences between males and females

Abstract The importance of gender to the prevalence of the “sick building syndrome” symptoms was investigated by questionnaire studies in three office buildings in Norway. The study included 710 persons. Of these, 590 (83%) completed the questionnaires. The most important factor related to the differences in symptom prevalences was found to be the sex. A greater percentage of females than males reported having symptoms. A relatively frequent occurrence of symptoms was reported by a greater percentage of females than males. The difference between males and females within each building was greater than the corresponding differences between females and males respectively in different buildings. The results show that gender is of importance to the prevalence of symptoms recorded in indoor air questionnaire studies. It must be taken into account when analyzing the results; otherwise, the sex can be a confounding factor. Possible reasons for the observed differences are discussed.