Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Data from published studies were combined and analyzed to develop best-fit equations and curves quantifying the change in sick building syndrome (SBS) symptom prevalence in office workers with ventilation rate. For each study, slopes were calculated, representing the fractional change in SBS symptom prevalence per unit change in ventilation rate per person. Values of ventilation rate, associated with each value of slope, were also calculated. Linear regression equations were fitted to the resulting data points, after weighting by study size. Integration of the slope-ventilation rate equations yielded curves of relative SBS symptom prevalence versus ventilation rate. Based on these analyses, as the ventilation rate drops from 10 to 5 L/s-person, relative SBS symptom prevalence increases approximately 23percent (12percent to 32percent), and as ventilation rate increases from 10 to 25 L/s-person, relative prevalence decreases approximately 29percent (15percent to 42percent). Variations in SBS symptom types, building features, and outdoor air quality may cause the relationship of SBS symptom prevalence with ventilation rate in specific situations to differ from the average relationship predicted in this paper.