Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Sick Buildings Syndrome (SBS) among Office Workers in New and Old Building in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang

This study aimed to determine the association between indoor air quality and the prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS) among office workers in new and old buildings in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 139 office workers from new buildings (The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Faculty of Engineering) and old building (administrative building of UPM). The SBS symptoms were assessed by using the questionnaires of Indoor Air Quality and Work Environment Symptoms Survey, NIOSH Indoor Environment Quality Survey (1991) while for the IAQ and IAP they were monitored by using the instruments. The results showed that ventilation rate was significantly higher in new buildings compared to old building with median 21.28 cfm/person and 15.16 cfm/person, respectively (z= -2.722, p 0.05). The prevalence of SBS symptom i.e. stuffy or runny nose or sinus was significantly higher in new building compared to old building (χ 2 = 5.974, p < 0.05). The level of IAP for ultrafine particle in old building was significantly higher compared to new building (z = -2.449, p<0.05). The temperature humidity index also showed the same pattern (z= -2.038, p<0.05). Although there was no significant difference for SBS prevalence between new and old buildings, both buildings can be concluded as having SBS since more than 20% of building occupants had experienced SBS during this study. Prevalence of SBS in new building was 47.5% while for the old building was 33.8%, indicating that both buildings have high risk on SBS. Thus, regular housekeeping and proper ventilation system maintenance are recommended.

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