Table 2.
Prevalence of sick building symptoms and home building characteristics
| Variables | Reference | Total n (%) or (Mean ± SD) | Mucosal symptoms | Skin symptoms | General symptoms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home building characteristics | Number of inhabitants | Continuous | 4.1 ± 1.1 | 4.0 ± 1.01 | 4.0 ± 1.1 | 4.0 ± 1.2 |
| Building age | Years | 14.1 ± 10.0 | 15 ± 10.8* | 16.3 ± 10.5* | 15.4 ± 7.8 | |
| Dampness index (0–4) | Continuous | 1.1 ± 1.1 | 1.4 ± 1.1*** | 1.4 ± 1.2*** | 1.6 ± 1.2*** | |
| Type of home | Single-family home | 1910 (43.5) | 116 (6.1) | 41 (2.1) | 9 (0.5)* | |
| Multifamily home | 2483 (56.5) | 188 (7.6) | 46 (1.8) | 25 (1.0) | ||
| Structure of home | Wooden | 2248 (51.4) | 149 (6.6) | 45 (2.0) | 12 (0.5) | |
| Others | 2124 (58.6) | 154 (7.3) | 42 (2.0) | 22 (1.1) | ||
| Newly built/renovated within 1 year | Yes | 279 (6.3) | 13 (4.7) | 7 (2.5) | 2 (0.7) | |
| No | 4129 (93.6) | 291 (7.1) | 80 (1.9) | 33 (0.8) | ||
| Environmental tobacco smoke | Yes | 2105 (47.9) | 151 (7.2) | 43 (2.1) | 21 (1.0) | |
| No | 2291 (52.1) | 153 (6.6) | 44 (1.9) | 13 (0.6) | ||
| Ventilation in living and/or child’s room(s) | Yes | 2846 (65.4) | 179 (6.3)* | 60 (2.1) | 21 (0.7) | |
| No | 1503 (34.6) | 123 (8.2) | 26 (1.7) | 13 (0.9) | ||
| Furry pets in the house | Yes | 1106 (25.1) | 67 (6.1) | 16 (1.4) | 9 (0.8) | |
| No | 3293 (74.5) | 237 (7.2) | 71 (2.2) | 25 (0.8) | ||
| Wall-to-wall carpet | Yes | 2511 (57.3) | 191 (7.6)* | 53 (2.1) | 21 (0.8) | |
| No | 1870 (42.7) | 109 (5.8) | 34 (1.8) | 13 (0.7) | ||
| Lives near heavy traffic within 50 m | Yes | 3336 (76.4) | 254 (7.6)*** | 65 (1.9) | 31 (0.9)* | |
| No | 1028 (23.5) | 48 (4.6) | 22 (2.1) | 3 (0.3) |
p values were calculated using the chi-square test and t test
* p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001