What is a sick building syndrome?

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a combination of ailments (a syndrome) associated with an individual's place of work (office building) or residence.

A 1984 World Health Organization report suggested up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings may be linked to symptoms of SBS. Most of the sick building syndrome is related to poor indoor air quality that encourage allergenic, potentially-deadly mold growth.


Various fungi including Penicillium and Aspergillus spp. growing in axenic culture. Image source: Wikipedia, Dr. David Midgley Cultures: Dr. David Midgley University of Sydney, Australia, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.

New studies have added evidence for the role of personality traits and psychosocial work environment, reactive chemistry and the inflammatory properties of indoor particles for SBS.

In summary, SBS is related to both personal and environmental risk factors.

References:
Sick building syndrome, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
An update on sick building syndrome. Mechanisms of allergy and adult asthma. Current Opinion in Allergy & Clinical Immunology. 9(1):55-59, February 2009. Norback, Dan.

Related:

University of Iowa Building Still Causing Health Problems. Gray Television, Inc.

Updated: 12/14/2009