Milton D K, Glencross P M, Walters M D
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachussets, USA.
Indoor Air. 2000 Dec;10(4):212-21. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0668.2000.010004212.x.
We analyzed 1994 sick leave for 3,720 hourly employees of a large Massachusetts manufacturer, in 40 buildings with 115 independently ventilated work areas. Corporate records identified building characteristics and IEQ complaints. We rated ventilation as moderate (approximately 25 cfm/person, 12 ls-1) or high (approximately 50 cfm/person, 24 ls-1) outdoor air supply based on knowledge of ventilation systems and CO2 measurements on a subset of work areas, and used Poisson regression to analyze sick leave controlled for age, gender, seniority, hours of non-illness absence, shift, ethnicity, crowding, and type of job (office, technical, or manufacturing worker). We found consistent associations of increased sick leave with lower levels of outdoor air supply and IEQ complaints. Among office workers, the relative risk for short-term sick leave was 1.53 (95% confidence 1.22-1.92) with lower ventilation, and 1.52 (1.18-1.97) in areas with IEQ complaints. The effect of ventilation was independent of IEQ complaints and among those exposed to lower outdoor air supply rates the attributable risk of short-term sick leave was 35%. The cost of sick leave attributable to ventilation at current recommended rates was estimated as $480 per employee per year at Polaroid. These findings suggest that net savings of $400 per employee per year may be obtained with increased ventilation. Thus, currently recommended levels of outdoor air supply may be associated with significant morbidity, and lost productivity on a national scale could be as much as $22.8 billion per year. Additional studies of IEQ impacts on productivity and sick leave, and the mechanisms underlying the apparent association are needed.
我们分析了马萨诸塞州一家大型制造商的3720名小时工的1994份病假记录，这些员工分布在40栋建筑的115个独立通风工作区域。公司记录确定了建筑特征和室内环境质量投诉情况。基于通风系统的知识以及部分工作区域的二氧化碳测量结果，我们将通风分为适度（约25立方英尺每分钟每人，12升每秒每人）或高（约50立方英尺每分钟每人，24升每秒每人）的室外空气供应量，并使用泊松回归分析病假情况，同时控制了年龄、性别、工龄、非因病缺勤时长、班次、种族、拥挤程度和工作类型（办公室职员、技术工人或制造工人）。我们发现病假增加与较低的室外空气供应量和室内环境质量投诉之间存在一致的关联。在办公室职员中，通风较差时短期病假的相对风险为1.53（95%置信区间为1.22 - 1.92），在有室内环境质量投诉的区域为1.52（1.18 - 1.97）。通风的影响独立于室内环境质量投诉，在室外空气供应率较低的人群中，短期病假的归因风险为35%。宝丽来公司估计，按照当前推荐的通风率，因通风导致的病假成本为每人每年480美元。这些发现表明，增加通风量可能使每位员工每年净节省400美元。因此，目前推荐的室外空气供应量水平可能与显著的发病率相关，全国范围内生产力损失每年可能高达228亿美元。需要对室内环境质量对生产力和病假的影响以及这种明显关联背后的机制进行更多研究。
