Relationship between CO2 Concentration and Environmental Parameters with Sick Building Syndrome in School and House Settings in Babol, Iran

Background and purpose: Lack of healthy air in classrooms and homes will reduce the level of health and disrupts students’ learning. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between CO2 concentration and other environmental parameters with sick building syndrome in schools and homes in Babol, north of Iran, 2018. Materials and methods: To measure carbon dioxide, temperature, and humidity, the TES 1370 was used. This study was conducted among 85 students in five primary, secondary, and high schools. Selection of schools, classrooms, and students was performed using a multistage random sampling. Data were collected through interviews using MM040EA questionnaire. Chi-square, ANOVA, and T-test were used to determine the relationship between sick building syndrome and environmental parameters. Results: The most common symptoms of building syndrome were fatigue (45.8%) in winter and headache (35.3%) in spring. T-test showed significant relationships between carbon dioxide and building syndrome signs in winter (P= 0.02) and spring (P= 0.01) in classrooms and homes. But there was no significant relationship between the syndrome and moisture and temperature. Among the risk factors investigated in winter and spring, noise was reported as an annoying risk factor. Conclusion: The study showed that concentration of carbon dioxide has a significant relationship with development of sick building syndrome in students. The symptoms of sick building syndrome were found to be mild in our samples, but due to poor physical conditions in some schools and even in home settings, optimization of these spaces should be done.