Indoor environment regulation should consider personalization: Evidence from the evaluation of health effects in the kitchen

Abstract

Thermal and relative humidity (RH) comfort of the human body is a central indicator for evaluating temperature and RH regulation in indoor environments. However, apart from the focus on thermal comfort, the health effects on the human body should also be taken into consideration. So far, there is insufficient scientific evidence regarding the complete alignment between thermal comfort and health effects in indoor environments. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the impact of water-soluble organic pollutants on human health in kitchen environments under different temperature and RH conditions, by simulating cooking scenarios for residents. We selected four disease probes highly associated with human diseases, namely α-Glucosidase, tyrosinase (TYR), hyaluronidase (HAase), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE), as evaluation indicators. The research results demonstrated significant differences in the inhibitory effects of these four enzymes under different RH levels, with the weakest inhibition observed at high RH. Furthermore, the coupled study on temperature and RH showed that relatively lower temperature and RH had stronger inhibitory effects on TYR, α-Glucosidase, and HAase, while the opposite effect was observed for AchE. Moreover, in the absence of local ventilation, the inhibition rates of these four enzymes were higher. These findings indicate that human thermal comfort and health effects are not always in complete alignment, and for individuals with specific diseases or disease risks, the most suitable thermal and RH comfort environment may not necessarily be the most beneficial for health. Therefore, when regulating temperature and RH in indoor environments, personalized regulation based on health effects should be fully considered.