Hudnell H K, Otto D A, House D E, Mølhave L
Neurotoxicology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Arch Environ Health. 1992 Jan-Feb;47(1):31-8. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1992.9935941.
Time-course functions for symptoms of the sick building syndrome were derived from 66 healthy males who, during separate sessions, were exposed to clean air and to a volatile organic compound (VOC) mixture. The mixture contained 22 VOCs (25 mg/m3 total concentration) commonly found airborne in new or recently renovated buildings. Subjects rated the intensity of perceived irritation, odor, and other variables before, and twice during, 2.75-h exposure periods. Eye and throat irritation, headache, and drowsiness increased or showed no evidence of adaptation during exposure, whereas odor intensity decreased by 30%. These results indicate that irritation intensity and other symptoms are not related in any simple way to odor intensity, which suggests that the symptoms may not be a psychosomatic response to the detection of an aversive odor. Instead, subthreshold levels of VOCs may interact additively or hyperadditively and stimulate trigeminal nerve receptors. Also, air quality ratings improved by 18% during exposure, which suggests that both odor and irritation intensity may influence assessments of air quality.
病态建筑综合征症状的时间进程函数源自66名健康男性，他们在不同时段分别暴露于清洁空气和挥发性有机化合物（VOC）混合物中。该混合物包含22种VOC（总浓度为25毫克/立方米），常见于新建或近期翻新建筑的空气中。在2.75小时的暴露期之前以及期间，受试者对感知到的刺激强度、气味及其他变量进行了评分，共两次。眼部和喉咙刺激、头痛及嗜睡在暴露期间有所增加或未显示出适应迹象，而气味强度下降了30%。这些结果表明，刺激强度和其他症状与气味强度不存在任何简单关联，这表明这些症状可能并非对厌恶气味检测的身心反应。相反，VOC的阈下水平可能会产生相加或超相加作用，并刺激三叉神经受体。此外，暴露期间空气质量评分提高了18%，这表明气味和刺激强度可能都会影响空气质量评估。
