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Subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality (subjective IAQ) reflects both building-related and psychosocial factors, but their associations have rarely been studied other than on the individual level in occupational settings and their interactions have not been assessed. Therefore, we studied whether schools' observed indoor air problems and psychosocial factors are associated with subjective IAQ and their potential interactions. The analysis was performed with a nationwide sample ( N = 195 schools/26946 students) using multilevel modeling. Two datasets were merged: (i) survey data from students, including information on schools' psychosocial environment and subjective IAQ, and (ii) data from school principals, including information on observed indoor air problems. On the student level, school-related stress, poor teacher-student relationship, and whether the student did not easily receive help from school personnel, were significantly associated with poor subjective IAQ. On the school level, observed indoor air problem (standardized β = −0.43) and poor teacher-student relationship (standardized β = −0.22) were significant predictors of poor subjective IAQ. In addition, school-related stress was associated with poor subjective IAQ, but only in schools without observed indoor air problem (standardized β = −0.44). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Typically housing and health surveys are not integrated together and therefore are not representative of population health or national housing stocks. In addition, the existing channels for distributing information about housing and health issues to the general public are limited. The aim of this study was to develop a data collection and response system that would allow us to assess the Finnish housing stock from the points of view of quality, health and safety, and also to provide a tool to distribute information about important housing health and safety issues. Methods The data collection and response system was tested with a sample of 3000 adults (one per household), who were randomly selected from the Finnish Population Register Centre. Spatial information about the exact location of the residences (i.e. coordinates) was included in the database inquiry. People could participate either by completing and returning a paper questionnaire or by completing the same questionnaire via the Internet. The respondents did not receive any compensation for their time in completing the questionnaire. Results This article describes the data collection and response system and presents the main results of the population-based testing of the system. A total of 1312 people (response rate 44%) answered the questionnaire, though only 80 answered via the Internet. A third of the respondents had indicated they wanted feedback. Albeit a majority (>90%) of the respondents reported being satisfied or quite satisfied with their residence, there were a number of prevalent housing issues identified that can be related to health and safety. Conclusions The collected database can be used to evaluate the quality of the housing stock in terms of occupant health and safety, and to model its association with occupant health and well-being. However, it must be noted that all the health outcomes gathered in this study are self-reported. A follow-up study is needed to evaluate whether the occupants acted on the feedback they received. Relying solely on an Internet-based questionnaire for collecting data would not appear to provide an adequate response rate for random population-based surveys at this point in time.

While the urgent need for energy saving is triggering energy retrofit measures in buildings, there are still large gaps in our understanding of how these measures may impact indoor environmental quality, including particle, chemical, and microbial exposure, and ultimately human health. Here, we explore the effects of energy retrofits on the indoor microbiota characteristics of 193 apartments in 40 apartment buildings in two Northern European countries, Finland and Lithuania. Amplicon sequencing was used to characterise fungal and bacterial microbiota compositions in airborne, settled dust samples collected from apartments before and after energy retrofits, mostly targeting upgrades in insulation, heating and/or ventilation systems, and windows. Pairwise pre versus post testing of the most abundant fungal and bacterial taxa and diversity metrics, (generalized) linear mixed modelling ((G)LMM), and Analysis of Composition of Microbiomes (ANCOM) differential abundance testing were used to explore the effects of retrofits on indoor microbiota while accounting for confounding factors. The results indicated significant, country-dependent changes in the relative abundances of individual bacterial and fungal taxa, and a smaller proportion of human-sourced bacteria in Finnish buildings after compared to before retrofits. As in previous studies, factors such as outdoor temperature and type of ventilation were found to influence both bacterial and fungal composition indoors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first dedicated, multi-country study on impacts of energy retrofits on indoor microbiota. Our novel findings offer a foundation for future research into this topic, including studies on the potential health relevance of energy retrofit associated indoor microbiome changes., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Buildings are constructed and operated to satisfy human needs and improve quality of life. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort are prerequisites for human health and well-being. For their provision, buildings often rely on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, which may lead to higher energy consumption. This directly impacts energy efficiency goals and the linked climate change considerations. The balance between energy use, optimum IAQ and thermal comfort calls for scientifically solid and well-established limit values for exposures experienced by building occupants in indoor spaces, including homes, schools, and offices. The present paper aims to appraise limit values for selected indoor pollutants reported in the scientific literature, and to present how they are handled in international and national guidelines and standards. The pollutants include carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), formaldehyde (CH 2 O), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and radon (Rn). Furthermore, acknowledging the particularly strong impact on energy use from HVAC, ventilation, indoor temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH) are also included, as they relate to both thermal comfort and the possibilities to avoid moisture related problems, such as mould growth and proliferation of house dust mites. Examples of national regulations for these parameters are presented, both in relation to human requirements in buildings and considering aspects related to energy saving. The work is based on the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) guidelines database, which spans across countries and institutions, and aids in taking steps in the direction towards a more uniform guidance for values of indoor parameters. The database is coordinated by the Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) 34, as part of ISIAQ, the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: School districts across the world have been grappling with how to keep their schools open, students healthy, and prevent the spread of viruses in their communities., Objective: The aims of this study included assessing both (1) the effectiveness of enhanced classroom cleaning and disinfecting protocol on surface biocontamination and (2) the associations between surface biocontamination and student absence due to illnesses., Methods: Cleaning effectiveness was assessed using quantitative adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements during a 10-week study period in a sample of 34 public schools (15,814 students), of a district located in the Western US. The schools were randomly assigned to 17 intervention schools implementing enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocol and 17 control schools cleaning as usual. General estimating equations (GEEs) were used for modeling associations between ATP levels and weekly aggregates of student absences due to respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, which were recorded by the schools according to district wide protocol., Results: The weekly average ATP levels on logarithmic scale were 5.02 (SD 0.53) and 5.26 (SD 0.48) in the intervention and control schools, respectively, where the difference is statistically significant (p < 0.001). The probability of weekly absence due to gastrointestinal illness was significantly associated with ATP levels (parameter estimate 1.16, 95% CI 1.01-1.34, per unit (log) increase of weekly average ATP), where the model accounts for student level, gender, ethnic group, and socioeconomic status as well as for school level attendance, total absence ratio, and ventilation adequacy in classrooms. Associations were not found between ATP levels and weekly probability of any absence, or absence due to respiratory illness., Significance: Enhanced cleaning resulted in a significantly lower level of biocontamination on desktops in the intervention group. In addition, a statistically significant association was established between ATP levels on classroom desks and probability of absence due to gastrointestinal illness., Impact: We found that enhanced cleaning protocol, including bi-weekly cleaning of classroom desks, as well as training of custodians and teachers, monitoring of effectiveness, and feedback, yielded a moderate but statistically significantly lower level of biocontamination on desktops, indicated by quantitative ATP monitoring. Within the range of weekly average desktop ATP levels observed, the probability of reported absence due to gastrointestinal illness is estimated to increase from 0.021 to 0.026. Based on the results, enhanced surface cleaning and monitoring its effectiveness is a possible district, state, or even national level policy to support healthy school environments., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Moisture-damaged buildings are associated with respiratory symptoms and underlying diseases among building occupants, but the causative agent(s) remain a mystery. We first identified specific fungal and bacterial taxa in classrooms with moisture damage in Finnish and Dutch primary schools. We then investigated associations of the identified moisture damage indicators with respiratory symptoms in more than 2700 students. Finally, we explored whether exposure to specific taxa within the indoor microbiota may explain the association between moisture damage and respiratory health. Schools were assessed for moisture damage through detailed inspections, and the microbial composition of settled dust in electrostatic dustfall collectors was determined using marker-gene analysis. In Finland, there were several positive associations between particular microbial indicators (diversity, richness, individual taxa) and a respiratory symptom score, while in the Netherlands, the associations tended to be mostly inverse and statistically non-significant. In Finland, abundance of the Sphingomonas bacterial genus and endotoxin levels partially explained the associations between moisture damage and symptom score. A few microbial taxa explained part of the associations with health, but overall, the observed associations between damage-associated individual taxa and respiratory health were limited., (© 2021 The Authors. Indoor Air published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Schools represent high occupancy environments and well-documented high-risk locations for the transmission of respiratory viruses. The goal of this study was to report on the area density, occurrence, and type of respiratory viruses on desks in primary school classrooms., Methods: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques were employed to measure nucleic acid area densities from a broad range of human adenoviruses and rhinoviruses, as well as coronavirus OC43, influenza A, and norovirus GI. Every two weeks, virus monitoring was conducted on the desks of four primary school classrooms in Colorado, USA, during the 2019 respiratory virus season., Results: DNA and RNA from respiratory viruses and norovirus were recovered from more than 20% of the desks sampled; occurrence patterns that indicate a greater than 60% probability of encountering any virus, if more than five desks were occupied in a day. Rhinoviruses and adenoviruses were the most commonly detected viruses as judged by the composite of occurrence and number of gene copies recovered. Desktop adenosine triphosphate monitoring did not predict the recovery of viral genomic materials on desks. School desks can be commonly contaminated with respiratory viruses., Conclusions: Genomic surveys of the identity, distribution and abundance of human viruses on "high-touch" surfaces, can help inform risk assessments, design cleaning interventions, and may be useful for infection surveillance., (Copyright © 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This commentary is intended to provide a research roadmap for utilizing recent chemical and molecular-biological technological advances for addressing dampness and mold in buildings. The perspective is unique in that both the mold industry practitioners and academic researchers drive the questions. Research needs were derived from a 2018 international workshop attended by practitioners, researchers and governmental representatives, where challenges and opportunities in the mold remediation and restoration field were discussed focusing on the need to develop new tools that improve building diagnosis and clearance certification for mold inspectors and remediators. Suggestions are made on how new technologies surrounding DNA-based sequence analysis for fungal and bacterial identification and real-time chemical sensor technology can be leveraged by practitioners to improve inspection and remediation. The workshop put into effect a logical progression to distill and extract practice-based implications and encourage the process of transfer of the science to practice. Goals for the workshop, and this subsequent paper, are also centered on encouraging US government-funding agencies to better position and define research on the built environment geared for end-user scientists and practitioners to better explore practical solutions to dampness and mold in indoor environments. By facilitating the workshop forum and targeting industry, field practitioners, and government agencies, a sharing of needed commonalities may be infused into future research agendas and outreach efforts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Dampness or water damage in buildings and human exposure to the resultant mold growth is an ever-present public health concern. This study provides quantitative evidence that the airborne fungal ecology of homes with known mold growth ("moldy") differs from the normal airborne fungal ecology of homes with no history of dampness, water damage, or visible mold ("no mold"). Settled dust from indoor air and outdoor air and direct samples from building materials with mold growth were examined in homes from 11 cities across dry, temperate, and continental climate regions within the United States. Community analysis based on the sequence of the internal transcribed spacer region of fungal ribosomal RNA encoding genes demonstrated consistent and quantifiable differences between the fungal ecology of settled dust in homes with inspector-verified water damage and visible mold versus the settled dust of homes with no history of dampness, water damage, or visible mold. These differences include lower community richness ( p adj = 0.01) in the settled dust of moldy homes versus no mold homes, as well as distinct community taxonomic structures between moldy and no mold homes (ANOSIM, R = 0.15, p = 0.001). We identified 11 Ascomycota taxa that were more highly enriched in moldy homes and 14 taxa from Ascomycota , Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota that were more highly enriched in no mold homes. The indoor air differences between moldy versus no mold homes were significant for all three climate regions considered. These distinct but complex differences between settled dust samples from moldy and no homes were used to train a machine learning-based model to classify the mold status of a home. The model was able to accurately classify 100% of moldy homes and 90% of no mold homes. The integration of DNA-based fungal ecology with advanced computational approaches can be used to accurately classify the presence of mold growth in homes, assist with inspection and remediation decisions, and potentially lead to reduced exposure to hazardous microbes indoors.

The purpose of this research is to find design variables effective on education integration with physical spaces of nursing homes in association with life expectancy of older people. Delphi technique was used to obtain the design variables by which the education integration with physical spaces of nursing homes can be achieved. Subsequently, in order to investigate the modifying effect of education integrated physical space on life expectancy of the elderly, questionnaires were sent to 50 local researchers and experts in the field of ageing. Results showed a significant and positive correlation between education integrated physical space and life expectancy indicators (p < .05). The results suggest that as per expert opinions, designing a physical space integrated with education could increase the life expectancy of older people., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Clean and fresh indoor air supports health and well-being. However, indoor air can contain pollutants that can cause a variety of symptoms and reduce well-being. Individual exposure agents can also increase the risk of certain diseases. Finns have taken major steps to improve the quality of indoor air for several decades. The primary focus of these activities has been the prevention and reduction of exposure to poor indoor air quality through guidance and regulation directing remediation of damaged buildings. Nevertheless, reported symptoms related to poor indoor air quality are common in Finland. In addition to exposure to indoor air pollutants, this may be partly due to the lively public discussion on the health risks caused by poor indoor air quality, conflicting views between experts, and mistrust towards public authorities, building owners and builders. Because of the scale of the indoor air problems in Finland, people's needs for reliable information and support, and the major costs involved, there is a call for new evidence-based methods, perspectives and solutions. Therefore, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare initiated the Finnish Indoor Air and Health Programme 2018-2028 together with a number of collaborators and stakeholders. The primary, long-term objective of the programme is to reduce hazards to health and well-being linked to indoor environments in Finland. To fulfill this objective, the programme will focus on the promotion of human health and well-being, the prevention of hazards, improved communication and engage the whole health-care sector to manage better patients´ symptoms and complaints. The 10-year Finnish Indoor Air and Health Programme consists of four areas that aim (1) to increase understanding of the effects of indoor environments on health and well-being; (2) to develop the management of problems linked to indoor environments; (3) to improve the treatment and working and functional capacity of people with symptoms and illnesses; and (4) to strengthen the competence in matters related to indoor environments. The progress of the programme and reaching the predefined, quantitative goals will be monitored throughout the programme., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe author declares that they have no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2020.)

We assessed 45 multifamily buildings (240 apartments) from Finland and 20 (96 apartments) from Lithuania, out of which 37 buildings in Finland and 15 buildings in Lithuania underwent energy retrofits. Building characteristics, retrofit activities, and energy consumption data were collected, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) parameters, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), formaldehyde (CH 2 O), selected volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), radon, and microbial content in settled dust were measured before and after the retrofits. After the retrofits, heating energy consumption decreased by an average of 24% and 49% in Finnish and Lithuanian buildings, respectively. After the retrofits of Finnish buildings, there was a significant increase in BTEX concentrations (estimated mean increase of 2.5 µg/m 3 ), whereas significant reductions were seen in fungal (0.6-log reduction in cells/m 2 /d) and bacterial (0.6-log reduction in gram-positive and 0.9-log reduction in gram-negative bacterial cells/m 2 /d) concentrations. In Lithuanian buildings, radon concentrations were significantly increased (estimated mean increase of 13.8 Bq/m 3 ) after the retrofits. Mechanical ventilation was associated with significantly lower CH 2 O concentrations in Finnish buildings. The results and recommendations presented in this paper can inform building retrofit studies and other programs and policies aimed to improve indoor environment and health., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The goal of this study was to test for associations between adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and microbial concentrations on desk surfaces in school classrooms., Methods: ATP bioluminescence and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques were employed to measure total bacterial, fungal, and human cell concentrations on 66 high-traffic desks spread across 9 schools: 3 in Connecticut (CT) and 6 in Oklahoma (OK). In CT, 6 samples were taken from each desk, 1 precleaning and 5 postcleaning (after 30 minutes, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 21 days). In OK, samples were taken immediately before and after cleaning each desk., Results: Based on simple linear regression analyses, ATP values were good predictors of microbial concentrations (r = 0.8, P = .003) in both CT school postcleaning samples and OK pre- and postcleaning samples (r = 0.7, P = .00002). However, biomass reductions measured after cleaning were 1.5-2 times greater when measured by ATP than by qPCR (P = .007)., Conclusions: Overall, ATP bioluminescence measurements correlate with qPCR-based surface measurements on school desks but may overestimate the physical removal of bacteria and fungi due to cleaning., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

A total of 15 classrooms went through on-site assessments/inspections, including measurements of temperature (T), and concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). In addition, the level of surface biocontamination/cleaning effectiveness was assessed by measuring adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels on students' desks. Based on the data, the quality of facilities in the buildings was low. Classroom occupancy exceeded ASHRAE 50 person/100 m 2 standard in all cases indicating overcrowding. However, concentrations of CO 2 remained below 1000 ppm in most classrooms. On the other hand, indoor T was above the recommended levels for thermal comfort in all classrooms. Maximum indoor CO was 6 ppm. Median ATP concentrations on the desk tops were moderately high in all schools. The use of open incinerators and power generator sets near classrooms, which was suspected to be the main source of CO, should be discouraged. Improved hygiene could be achieved by providing the students access to functioning bathroom facilities and cafeteria, and by effective cleaning of high contact surfaces such as desks. Although ventilation seems adequate based on CO 2 concentrations, thermal comfort was not attained especially in the afternoon during extreme sunlight. Therefore, installing passive and/or mechanical cooling systems should be considered in this regard., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)