Study on the Relationship between Indoor Air Quality and Children's Health in Beijing

Abstract:

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has been concerned since 1970s in some western countries. Many researchers have studied the effects of air pollution on children's health and evidence suggested that it did contribute significantly to the risk of adverse health in children. Children spend the majority of their time indoors, mostly at home. To study health effects of long-term exposure to indoor air, we conducted a questionnaire survey about indoor environment and children's health status in 2012 on the 4-5 grades children of a primary school in Beijing. The questionnaire was used to collect data on general information of children, living environment, residential equipments and lifestyle and children's health status. We classified the investigated families into several categories according to residential surrounding air pollution, decoration and smoking. Then we observed respiratory symptoms like cough, dyspnea with phlegm, nasal obstruction, asthma and some allergy symptoms in different categories. The results of this survey suggest that indoor air quality is associated with children's health. Morbidity of children's respiratory system symptoms and some allergy symptoms is higher in relatively poor indoor environment.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 368-370)
• Pages: 525-530
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.368-370.525
• Online since: August 2013
• Authors: Na Cui, Jing Chao Xie, Wen Yue Bian, Hiroshi Yoshino, U Yanagi, Hui Bo Zhang, Zhen Hai Li, Jing Liu, Yang Lv
• Keywords: Allergy Symptoms, Children, Indoor Air Pollution, Respiratory Health

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