INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) AND RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS AMONG CHILDREN IN TROPICAL SINGAPORE CHILD CARE CENTERS EMPLOYING DIFFERENT VENTILATION STRATEGIES

摘要

This paper summarized the current results of theIAQ characteristics in 104 child care centers (CCC) and the corresponding respiratory health symptoms of attending children employing 4 different ventilation strategies.Temperature, relative humidity and ventilation rates of naturally ventilated CCCs were consistently higher than that of air-conditioned CCCs. The lower ventilation rates in air-conditioned CCCs results in higher occupant related CO2 and bacteria concentrations but lower airborne PM2.5 and total fungi from the outdoors. On the contrary, naturally ventilated CCCs were not capable of preventing outdoor PM2.5, ozone and total fungi ingress into the centers due to the high air ventilation rates. This study indicated that there were no significant differences in both current and acute asthma and allergic symptom prevalence in different ventilated CCCs with the exception of asthma exacerbations leading to ER visits (highest in ACMV). There were also no significant differences in frequency and prevalence rates between CCC groups highlighting possible confounding effect of high number of children present in naturally ventilated CCCs.