Correlation of SBS with central air conditioning system among workers in workplaces

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between central air conditioning system at workplaces and sick building syndrome(SBS)among workers for making intervention measures.MethodsA case-control study was conducted among 887 workers from 2 factories with central air conditioning system and 892 workers in 2 factories without central air conditioning system with a self-administered questionnaire survey.The SBS-related symptoms were compared between the two groups.ResultsThere were significant differences in SBS-related symptoms between the cases and the controls(P<0.05 for all).The results of univariate analysis indicated that the SBS-related symptoms were correlated with central air conditioning system,with the odds ratios(ORs)of SBS-related symptoms of 1.137-5.823(P<0.05 for all symptoms,except for headache).The results of multivariate analysis also confirmed the associations of SBS-related symptoms with central air conditioning system,with the ORs of 0.986-5.258(P<0.05 for all,except for headache and dizziness).ConclusionThe workers in workplaces with central air conditioning system are more likely to have SBS-related symptoms compared to the workers in owrkplaces without the central air conditioning system.