title: Building-related health symptoms and classroom indoor air quality: a survey of school teachers in New York State.
abstract: Most previous research on indoor environments and health has studied school children or occupants in non-school settings. This investigation assessed building-related health symptoms and classroom characteristics via telephone survey of New York State school teachers. Participants were asked about 14 building-related symptoms and 23 classroom characteristics potentially related to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between these symptoms and each classroom characteristic, controlling for potential confounders. About 500 teachers completed the survey. The most frequently reported classroom characteristics included open shelving (70.7%), food eaten in class (65.5%), dust (59.1%), and carpeting (46.9%). The most commonly reported symptoms included sinus problems (16.8%), headache (15.0%), allergies/congestion (14.8%), and throat irritation (14.6%). Experiencing one or more symptoms was associated most strongly with reported dust (relative risk (RR) = 3.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.62-5.13), dust reservoirs (RR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.72-2.65), paint odors (RR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.40-2.13), mold (RR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.39-2.11), and moldy odors (RR = 1.65 95% CI: 1.30-2.10). Stronger associations were found with increasing numbers of reported IAQ-related classroom characteristics. Similar results were found with having any building-related allergic/respiratory symptom. This research adds to the body of evidence underscoring the importance to occupant health of school IAQ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Teachers play an important role in educating children, and teacher well-being is important to this role. Health symptoms among New York teachers while at work are common and appear to be associated with numerous characteristics related to poor classroom IAQ. Improving school Indoor Air Quality may reduce sickness and absenteeism and improve teacher performance.
authors.affiliation: NYS Department of Health, Center for Environmental Health, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kielb
authors.affiliation: NYS Department of Health, Center for Environmental Health, Albany, NY, USA.|University at Albany School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: NYS Department of Health, Center for Environmental Health, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9502-8932
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muscatiello
authors.affiliation: New York State United Teachers, Latham, NY, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hord
authors.affiliation: New York State United Teachers, Latham, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rogers-Harrington
authors.affiliation: New York State United Teachers, Latham, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Healy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D000070777:School Teachers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018877:Sick Building Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Allergens; Chemical irritants; Indoor air quality; Occupational health; School health; Teachers