Building-Related Environmental Intolerance and Associated Health in the General Population

Kirsi Karvala, Markku Sainio, Eva Palmquist, Anna-Sara Claeson, Maj-Helen Nyback and Steven Nordin
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Kirsi Karvala: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Markku Sainio: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 00032 Helsinki, Finland
Eva Palmquist: Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Anna-Sara Claeson: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Maj-Helen Nyback: Novia University of Applied Sciences, 65200 Vaasa, Finland
Steven Nordin: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: People frequently attribute adverse symptoms to particular buildings when exposure to pollutants is low, within nonhazardous levels. Our aim was to characterize building-related intolerance (BRI) in the general population. Data were derived from two population-based questionnaire surveys, the Västerbotten and Österbotten Environmental Health Study. We identified cases of BRI if respondents reported symptoms emerging from residing in certain buildings, when most other people had none. The questionnaires covered lifestyle factors, perceived general health, BRI duration and symptom frequency, the emotional and behavioral impact of BRI, coping strategies, and physician-diagnosed diseases. From the total of 4941 participants, we formed two case groups, 275 (5.6%) fulfilled criteria for self-reported BRI, and 123 (2.5%) for BRI with wide-ranging symptoms. Individuals in both case groups were significantly more often female, single, and perceived their general health as poorer than the referents, i.e., those reporting no BRI symptoms. The mean duration of BRI was 12 years. In both case groups, avoidance behavior was found in over 60%, and nearly half of the sample had sought medical care. BRI with wide-ranging symptoms was associated with elevated odds for all studied comorbidities (somatic and psychiatric diseases and functional somatic syndromes). The perceived health of individuals with BRI is poorer and comorbidities are more frequent than among referents. BRI seems to be similar to other environmental intolerances and shares features with functional somatic syndromes.

Keywords: environmental intolerance; building-related intolerance; sick-building syndrome; asthma; functional somatic syndrome (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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