A follow-up study on ventilation in dormitory and its association with respiratory infections

摘要

Dormitories are the main residential places for college students. Many dormitories in universities in China have high residential density with no mechanical ventilation system. The objectives of this study are to test whether the ventilation rate in dormitory in different seasons meet indoor air quality standard and to survey the associations between ventilation in dorms and respiratory infections among college students. In this study, the health status of students and dormitory environment at Tianjin University were surveyed by questionnaires. Ventilation rate, air temperature and relative humidity indoors were measured for 24 hours in each dorm room in different seasons. It was found that the median value of ventilation rate in dorms in summer was 10.9 L/s per person, while 32.8% of the measured dorm rooms had an out-to indoor air flow rate less than the Chinese standard of 8.3 L/s per person. The results showed that students lived in more crowded rooms with lower outdoor air ventilation reported increased incidence and longer duration of common cold.