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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

[What role do smoking and air conditioning play in the occurrence of otorhinolaryngological and upper respiratory symptoms in the personnel of a hospital center?].

A cross-sectional study of the risk factors of upper respiratory symptoms has been carried out in September 1987 among the 220 employees of the Dax General Hospital. The study was not able to prove that air conditioning contributed to the occurrence of this symptomatology, but showed that smoking was associated with the disease. Prevalence of symptoms was 34% among the employees who were smokers (32% of the personnel) and only 19% among the non-smokers (p less than 0.025). In the context of the national campaign against smoking, reducing the tobacco consumption at work in buildings with air conditioning systems is likely to decrease substantially the frequency of building sickness among the personnel. This recommendation seems particularly relevant to hospital settings.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Assessment of the number of eye symptoms and the impact of some confounding variables for office staff in non-air-conditioned buildings.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was both to assess the frequency of self-reported eye symptoms for employees in a non-air-conditioned office building complex, and to specifically assess whether confounding variables (contact lens wear, medicines use, and provoking stimuli) had a discernible impact on the characteristics of this reporting. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed, in the winter months, to office employees in a building complex within a city-located University site, consisting of non-air-conditioned rooms with some mechanical ventilation. The questionnaire asked respondents to identify any eye symptoms experienced (foreign body sensation, soreness, dryness, grittiness, itchiness, stinging, intense burning), the frequency of their occurrence, details of any conditions provoking eye symptoms (such as changes in the microenvironment), their medication use and if they were contact lens wearers. RESULTS: The proportion of respondents for various categories was calculated, along with the total number of symptoms. If 'eye irritation' is considered as reporting any symptoms experienced at any time, then 63% of 292 respondents (median age 42.5 years) reported an average of 1.83 symptoms. However, the identification of contact lens wearers, medication use (especially for seasonal allergies) and provoking stimuli reduced this prevalence to just 29% (with the average number of symptoms being 1.51). If the frequency of experiencing symptoms was also taken into account (never, sometimes, often, and constantly), then only 12.3% of the respondents indicated symptoms often or constantly, i.e. could be considered to have significant symptoms. In all categories, men were more likely to report eye symptoms compared with women. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that office employees are likely to have some ocular symptoms, but that even a simple consideration of possible confounding variables can greatly change the reported prevalence of eye irritation that might be specifically associated with the workplace environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Investigation of a respiratory disease associated with an air-conditioning system.

This paper describes the investigation of respiratory disease presenting in a group of men employed on the printing floor of a factory. The air-conditioning units supplying this floor were found to be contaminated with a variety of micro-organisms. The specific cause of the disease was not identified but an alteration in the system of humidification led to the complete resolution of symptoms.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

A study of local electrostatic filtration and main pre-filtration on airborne and surface dust levels in air-conditioned office premises.

The impact of electrostatic precipitation as a useful form of particulate filtration in the breathing zone is investigated in an intervention study in an air-conditioned commercial office in central London. Surface dust deposition and airborne dust levels are measured in the open plan zones of two floors--a control floor and a floor where the intervention is effected. The intervention consists of a sequence of weekly scenarios where the main pre-filters of the air-handling unit are switched between new and old filters, and where the electrostatic filters, located as uniformly as practicable on the open plan areas, are switched on or off. This 2 x 2 set of interventions is repeated over 4 cycles. It was found that the breathing zone filtration (BZF) by electrostatic precipitators reduces airborne dust significantly and appears to be more efficient in reducing smaller sized particles. No significant effect of BZF filters in reducing surface dust deposition was detected.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hyperpyrexia due to air-conditioning failure in a nursing home.

During the period August 9--13, 1976, 21 of 89 residents of a nursing home in southeastern Florida had sudden onset of fever--temperature greater than 38.1 degrees C (100.6 degrees F) with no accompanying symptoms. Five residents, whose temperatures ranged from 39.4 degrees C (103 degrees F) to 41.3 degrees C (106.4 degrees F), died. No viral or bacterial pathogens were isolated. None of the nursing home's 123 employees and volunteers had similar illness. The air-conditioning system was shut down for repairs from August 9 through August 12, a time when recorded peak temperatures outdoors ranged from 30.6 degrees C (87 degrees F) to 32.2 degrees C (90 degrees F). The only recorded temperature inside the nursing home for that period was 31.7 degrees C (89 degrees F). Laboratory and epidemiologic data were consistent with the theory that the illness was due to hyperpyrexia, secondary to environmental conditions, rather than to an infectious agent. The episode was considered analogous to the nonspecific increased mortality of elderly and chronically ill persons during an urban heat wave. The episode points up the need for prompt recognition and intervention when there is the potential for heat stress in elderly and chronically ill patients. Buildings housing such patients must be designed so that alternative ventilation can be provided when the central air-conditioning system fails.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hygienic assessment of a recirculatory combined air-conditioning extract-and-input system in office building].

The high concentrations of lead were reveled in the air and dust of some premises and on the filters of a combined air-conditioning extract-and-input system in the high-rise office buildings located in the ecologically lead favorable environment. The dust content of lead in some premises on the first floors dust was as high as 200 mg/kg, which was more than 6 times higher than that in the soil at the highway near the office buildings. The use of new technologies and devices for cleaning and optimizing the air in the premises requires analytical studies to assess the quality of the environment, by taking into account the optimal conditions of their operation.

Air Conditioning↗