Abstract
Research has increasingly demonstrated that complex relationships exist between residential indoor air quality, health and socioeconomic factors. However, few studies have provided a comprehensive understanding of these relationships. The purpose of this paper, therefore, was to use structural equation modeling to identify the combined effect of residential indoor air quality and socioeconomic factors on occupants’ health, based on field measurement data in Northeast China. The results showed that socioeconomic status had a direct impact on the occupants’ health with the path coefficient of 0.413, whereas the effect from indoor air quality was 0.105. Socioeconomic status posed the direct effect on indoor air quality with path coefficients of 0.381. The weights of PM2.5, CO2, TVOC (Total Volatile Organic Compounds), and formaldehyde concentration to the indoor air quality were 0.813, 0.385, 0.218, and 0.142, respectively. Relative contributions of Income level, education level, and occupation prestige to socioeconomic status were 0.595, 0.551, and 0.508, respectively. Relationships between indoor air quality, socioeconomic factors and health were further confirmed based on multiple group analysis. The study defines and quantifies complex relationships between residential indoor air quality, socioeconomic status and health, which will help improve knowledge of the impacts of the residential indoor environment on health.
Highlights
China’s rapid economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization over the past four decades has increased concern about air pollution
67% of the time spent indoors is spent in their residences [4], and the figure is even higher during the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic currently
This study reports the combined effect of residential indoor air quality and socioeconomic factors on health, using structural equation modeling, on the basis of field measurements in Northeast China
Summary
China’s rapid economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization over the past four decades has increased concern about air pollution. Considerable scientific progress has been made in the understanding of health effects related to the indoor air quality over the past decades. These efforts tend to address indoor air pollution sources and exposures and associated health concerns, such as sulfur dioxide [5], nitrogen oxides [6], ozone [7], particulate matter [8], formaldehyde [9], radon [10], tobacco smoke [11], VOC [12], pesticides [13] and SVOC (Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds) [14]. Research has increasingly shown the effect of socioeconomic factors (e.g., income, education, and job) on the relationship between indoor air quality and occupants’ health. Low-income families were likely to live in dilapidated houses with deteriorating building structures and poor inferiors building materials, which led to high
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