Indoor carbon dioxide concentrations and sick building syndrome symptoms in office workers of petroleum industry health organization

Abstract

Aims: High prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) owing to the work is one of the popular discomforts. High prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) owing to the work is one of the popular discomforts and Work-related absenteeism between office workers. The aims of this study were to assess the association of indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations with SBS prevalence among employees in two office buildings of Petroleum Industry Health Organization in Tehran city. Materials and Methods: In this analytical-descriptive study, 170 employees of the two office buildings of Petroleum Industry Health Organization in Tehran city have been selected. HSE questionnaire was combined with Skov's questionnaire as data collection tools. Questionnaire data analysis has also carried out using SPSS and Chi-square independent sample t-test. CO2concentrations were measured using calibrated instruments. Results: The results suggested that the CO2concentration in both buildings is higher than the threshold limit. CO2concentration was significantly associated with some symptoms such as dry throat (P = 0.028), shortness of breath (P = 0.028), nasal irritation (P = 0.008), dizziness (P = 0.0312), headache (P = 0.0315), nausea (P = 0.049), and sickness (P = 0.023). Conclusion: The prevalence of syndrome symptoms in women was higher than men. Some of SBS symptoms were exacerbated by increasing CO2concentrations among the employee.