The sick building syndrome: a diagnostic dilemma

Abstract

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is usually defined as an increased occurrence of non-specific symptoms among populations in determined buildings. This definition differs from those of other medical syndromes in that it refers to a system (a building inclusive of its population) rather than to a clinical state in a single individual. Such a definition should make the term SBS impossible to use as a diagnosis applied to individual persons. In spite of this, it is often used in this way, and the aim of the article is to discuss problems with this practice. It is a case study based on an office building with long-standing building-related health problems. Information concerning the building and its inhabitants comes from a large number of separate documentary sources. The study demonstrates that the diagnostic use of SBS suffers from serious weaknesses. It is proposed that such diagnostics could even have a normative force serving to maintain and reinforce building-related, non-specific health problems. It is therefore suggested that the term sick building syndrome should be abandoned.