Objectives Ocular discomfort is a prevalent health complaint in offices. It is hypothesized that, in addition to individual and occupational factors, the buildings' indoor environment may affect eye complaints. However, insight in potential building-related causal factors, needed to allow development of effective prevention strategies in building design, operation and maintenance is limited. This study aimed to investigate the relations between modern office building characteristics and dry eye complaints. Methods Comprehensive characteristics of 167 office buildings in eight European countries, were linked to questionnaire data from 7441 office workers. Multilevel modeling was applied to explore relations between building characteristics and self-reported dry eye complaints, in a cross-sectional study. Results Among office workers investigated, 34% declared dry eye complaints during the past four weeks. Majority of workers (91.2%) experiencing these symptoms, reported improvement on days away from the office. After full adjustment, the regression model revealed a significant increased risk for: proximity (<100 m) to potential sources of outdoor air pollution (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.06–1.88), absence of operable windows (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.34–2.16), portable humidifiers in the offices (OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.18–2.11), exposed concrete and/or plaster (OR: 1.29, 95% CI 1.02–1.62) and dispersion and/or emulsion paint as wall covering in offices (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.01–1.41). A negative association was found for cleaning surfaces at least once per week (OR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.61–0.91). Conclusions Building characteristics were associated with dry eye complaints of office workers. Focused studies are recommended to investigate underlying causes to prevent these symptoms.@en

In the European research project OFFICAIR, a procedure was developed to determine associations between characteristics of European offices and health and comfort of office workers, through a checklist and a self-administered questionnaire including environmental, physiological, psychological, and social aspects. This procedure was applied in 167 office buildings in eight European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Finland) during the winter of 2011-2012. About 26 735 survey invitation e-mails were sent, and 7441 office workers were included in the survey. Among respondents who rated an overall comfort less than 4 (23%), 'noise (other than from building systems)', air 'too dry', and temperature 'too variable' were the main complaints selected. An increase of perceived control over indoor climate was positively associated with the perceived indoor environment quality. Almost one-third of office workers suffered from dry eyes and headache in the last 4 weeks. Physical building characteristics were associated with occupants' overall satisfaction (acoustical solutions, mold growth, complaints procedure, cleaning activities) and health (number of occupants, lack of operable windows, presence of carpet and cleaning activities). OFFICAIR project provides a useful database to identify stressors related to indoor environmental quality and office worker's health.@en

The OFFICAIR project aimed to describe comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) in new and retrofitted office buildings in Europe. In France, 21 office buildings participated in this project. In a subsample of five buildings, IAQ measurements and performance tests were carried out to study the relations between IAQ and work performance. Twenty-one compounds were measured (volatile organic compounds, aldehydes, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone) as well as environmental parameters: Carbon dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity, over five days in two different seasons. The occupants in the investigated rooms were invited to participate in two on-line task performance tests: A reaction time test, i.e., the standardized Deary-Liewald test, and a memory test. There were participants in summer and 98 in winter. They also provided self-assessments of the influence of the indoor environment on their productivity. The multilevel linear regression models showed that individual characteristics were the main factors determining performance at work. Indoor air concentrations of xylenes and ozone might influence reaction time during summer. Both in summer and winter, the occupants' satisfaction regarding noise and their perceived ability to control their indoor temperature increased their self-assessed productivity. This work is the first to study the influence of IAQ on performance in real work environments and on the basis of IAQmeasurements. This study was limited to five buildings, but it would be useful to repeat it on a larger scale.@en

The OFFICAIR project aimed to describe comfort and indoor air quality in new and retrofitted office buildings in Europe. This article reports the perceived comfort and health, as well as their relations with building characteristics, in the 21 participating office buildings in France. Occupant perception and personal information were collected through an online questionnaire. In parallel, a building audit was performed to describe each building. The survey took place between January and April 2012 over two weeks in each building. Among the 1,190 respondents, 54% were dissatisfied with the noise from the other occupants, 48% with dry air, and 46% with stuffy air. The most common health symptoms attributed to the building were headaches (31% of the respondents), dry eyes (27%), irritated eyes (21%) and a dry or sore throat (21%). No difference was observed between the French buildings and the European sample (167 buildings, 7,441 respondents). The perceived indoor environment and related health symptoms seemed similar to those reported in past studies. The multilevel linear regressions highlight the major influence of the individual parameters on both indoor air quality and comfort perception, as well as on PSI-5 (number of building-related symptoms across five symptoms defining the sick building syndrome). Occupants who could control their indoor environment had better perceptions. Similarly, an efficient procedure for managing building-related complaints was associated with better perceptions of indoor air quality and comfort and with fewer building-related health effects.@en

The OFFICAIR project aimed to describe comfort and indoor air quality in new and retrofitted office buildings in Europe. This article reports the perceived comfort and health, as well as their relations with building characteristics, in the 21 participating office buildings in France. Occupant perception and personal information were collected through an online questionnaire. In parallel, a building audit was performed to describe each building. The survey took place between January and April 2012 over two weeks in each building. Among the 1,190 respondents, 54% were dissatisfied with the noise from the other occupants, 48% with dry air, and 46% with stuffy air. The most common health symptoms attributed to the building were headaches (31% of the respondents), dry eyes (27%), irritated eyes (21%) and a dry or sore throat (21%). No difference was observed between the French buildings and the European sample (167 buildings, 7,441 respondents). The perceived indoor environment and related health symptoms seemed similar to those reported in past studies. The multilevel linear regressions highlight the major influence of the individual parameters on both indoor air quality and comfort perception, as well as on PSI-5 (number of building-related symptoms across five symptoms defining the sick building syndrome). Occupants who could control their indoor environment had better perceptions. Similarly, an efficient procedure for managing building-related complaints was associated with better perceptions of indoor air quality and comfort and with fewer building-related health effects.@en

Indoor environmental conditions (thermal, noise, light, and indoor air quality) may affect workers’ comfort, and consequently their health and well-being, as well as their productivity. This study aimed to assess the relations between perceived indoor environment and occupants’ comfort, and to examine the modifying effects of both personal and building characteristics. Within the framework of the European project OFFICAIR, a questionnaire survey was administered to 7441 workers in 167 “modern” office buildings in eight European countries (Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain). Occupants assessed indoor environmental quality (IEQ) using both crude IEQ items (satisfaction with thermal comfort, noise, light, and indoor air quality), and detailed items related to indoor environmental parameters (e.g., too hot/cold temperature, humid/dry air, noise inside/outside, natural/artificial light, odor) of their office environment. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relations between perceived IEQ and occupants’ comfort. The highest association with occupants’ overall comfort was found for “noise”, followed by “air quality”, “light” and “thermal” satisfaction. Analysis of detailed parameters revealed that “noise inside the buildings” was highly associated with occupants’ overall comfort. “Layout of the offices” was the next parameter highly associated with overall comfort. The relations between IEQ and comfort differed by personal characteristics (gender, age, and the Effort Reward Imbalance index), and building characteristics (office type and building’s location). Workplace design should take into account both occupant and the building characteristics in order to provide healthier and more comfortable conditions to their occupants.@en

Het onderhavig onderzoek was gericht op het vinden van relaties tussen eigenschappen van de woonomgeving en rhinitis (irritatie van het slijmweefsel in de neus) bij studenten. Een vragenlijst werd verspreid onder vier groepen van studenten van drie technische universiteiten in Nederland. Zelf-gerapporteerde eigenschappen van 396 studenten en hun woningen, werden gelinkt met zelfgerapporteerde rhinitis. De resultaten laten zien dat biologische verontreinigingen (veroorzaakt door huisdieren), chemische verontreinigingen (veroorzaakt door MDF in de slaapkamer), ventilatie (openen van raam in slaapkamer) en fysieke activiteit (training), geassocieerd waren met rhinitis bij de studenten. Verder onderzoek is nodig naar de onderliggende oorzaken om rhinitis bij jonge volwassenen te voorkomen.@en

There is a need for making people aware of the importance of indoor environmental quality for their health and comfort. A simple guide to educate yourself was created, together with a questionnaire to make you aware of your own indoor environment. The questionnaire was distributed among four groups of students from three different universities in The Netherlands. The procedure and the first descriptive results are presented. Further analysis will be performed for educational and scientific purposes.@en

Background While the indoor environmental quality of student homes is a potential issue since it may affect the wellbeing of the students, the relations are still poorly studied. This study aimed to investigate the relations between home building characteristics and rhinitis in students. Material and methods A questionnaire was distributed among four groups of students from three different universities in The Netherlands. Self-reported characteristics of 396 students and their homes were linked to self-reported rhinitis. Logistic regression modelling was applied to explore relations between building characteristics and rhinitis. Results Among the students studied, 33% declared to suffer from rhinitis in the last 12 months. After full adjustment, the regression model revealed that having relatives with rhinitis was positively associated with rhinitis (OR:5.27, CI: 3.02–9.21) as well as the presence of less than one-year old furniture made of MDF in the bedroom (OR:2.26, CI: 1.17–4.37). Both working out and having no pets was negatively linked to rhinitis (respectively OR:0.50, CI: 0.25–0.99 and OR: 0.37, CI: 0.18–0.74). Opening the window in the bedroom more than once a week also reduced the risk for rhinitis (OR: 0.55, CI: 0.31–0.98). Conclusions The study shows that biological pollutants (caused by pets), chemical pollutants (caused by MDF in bedroom), ventilation (opening window in bedroom) and workout, were associated with rhinitis in students. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying causes to prevent rhinitis in young adults.@en