On The Association Between Dorm Environmental Factors And Allergies Among College Students

Since October, 2005, a project"Dorm Environmental Factors and Its Association with Students'Health"was carried out in Tianjin City, China, which consisted of two phase studies, i.e., crosss-sectional study and case-control study. The cross-sectional study was launched in Tianjin University campus, from 21, February to 10, June, 2006, to survey the association between dampness in dorms and allergy and airways infections among college students. The health and dampness condition were reported on the self-administrated questionnaires by 3436 students living in 1511 dorm rooms located in 13 buildings on the campus. The buildings were selected according to their positions, construction periods and occupant density. The allergy and airways infection symptoms involved wheezing, dry cough during night, rhinitis, eczema and cold/flu. The dampness indicators were mould/damp spots on walls, ceilings and floors; suspected or ever happened water damage; condensation on windowpane in winter and odours perceived by subjects themselves. The response rate of this cross-sectional study was 74.11% for dorms and 57.11% for members, respectively. It showed that students living in dorms with mould spots had more wheezing. There were significant associations between mould/damp spots, water damage and dry cough, eczema, as well as an association between condensation and rhinitis. A mouldy smell were frequently reported in buildings with mould spots and suspected moisture problems.After the cross-sectional study, 291 dorm rooms were inspected in a case-control study from 9 May to 13 July, 2006."Case"students had at least two self-reported symptoms of asthma, rhinitis and eczema in the last 12 months prior to the cross-sectional study, while"control"had none of these symptoms. Trained project members inspected the dampness problem of the dorm room. Ventilation rate, air temperature and relative humidity indoors were measured for 24 hours in each room. As the weather was becoming hot and humid in the summer, measurements of physical parameters (air relative humidity, air temperature and CO2) were repeated during winter conditions from 5 December, 2006 to 14 April, 2007. Air change rate was calculated by using CO2 two-parameter build-up method and one-parameter decay technique. In each inspected room, dusts were collected on horizontal surfaces and beds to analyze phthalate and allergens of house dust mite and cockroach. Inspection results showed that first-hand impression of mould smell, mould odour along skirting board and mould/moisture spots on inner surfaces were significantly more often perceived in rooms with floor covering of stone, concrete outer wall material, which were constructed around year 2000. Mould smell along skirting board had significant positive relationship with suffering rate of allergic disease among student, especially asthma and rhinitis. A dose-response relationship between ventilation rate and allergy was indicated. Dibuthyl phthalate (DBP) oncentration was significantly higher in rooms where occupants had doctor diagnosed rhinitis. The indoor dampness, substandard ventilation rate and phthalate exposure were really environmental risk factors in irritating allergy among college students.