Indoor Humidity Levels and Associations with Reported Symptoms in Office Buildings

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allen JG ; Cedeño Laurent JG ; Coull BA ; Jones ER ; Spengler JD ; Young AS
• Description:
  Moderate indoor relative humidity (RH) levels (i.e., 40%-60%) may minimize transmission and viability of some viruses, maximize human immune function, and minimize health risks from mold, yet uncertainties exist about typical RH levels in offices globally and about the potential independent impacts of RH levels on workers' health. To examine this, we leveraged one year of indoor RH measurements (which study participants could view in real time) in 43 office buildings in China, India, Mexico, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and corresponding self-report symptom data from 227 office workers in a subset of 32 buildings. In the buildings in this study, 42% of measurements during 9:00 - 17:00 on weekdays were less than 40% RH and 7% exceeded 60% RH. Indoor RH levels tended to be lower in less tropical regions, in winter months, when outdoor RH or temperature was low, and late in the workday. Furthermore, we also found statistically significant evidence that higher indoor RH levels across the range of 14%-70% RH were associated with lower odds of reporting dryness or irritation of the throat and skin among females and unusual fatigue among males in models adjusted for indoor temperature, country, and day of year. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Exposure Fatigue Fungi Humidity Men Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Dry Air Exposure Levels Gender Hazards Humans IAQ Indoor Air Quality Indoor Environmental Quality Indoor Environments Molds Office Buildings Office Environments Relative Humidity Risk Factors Statistical Analysis Symptoms Worker Health

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• ISSN:
  0905-6947
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  32
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064094
• Citation:
  Indoor Air 2022 Jan; 32(1):e12961
• Contact Point Address:
  Emily R. Jones, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA and Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA
• Email:
  ejones@g.harvard
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Indoor Air
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b28db9adcd44d42fc6b1a6db9317a88d08506b0dce75a25282bc3dc2f8b7f86d29f2a2310b65524a646478d823f9e2c1746607a468d867c1799fd125325614ed
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222615/cdc_222615_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 632.24 KB ]