Department of Clinical Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Occupational Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
The Department of Biotechnology, The Laboratory of Immunochemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Logoped Phoniatr Vocol. 2024 Oct;49(3):150-156. doi: 10.1080/14015439.2023.2187450. Epub 2023 Mar 15.
Hoarseness and voice problems are one of the chronic conditions experienced by children. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hoarseness, possible risk factors and effects of the remediation of school buildings to the prevalence of hoarseness among school children. The material was gathered from all the schools in a large city in the south of Finland and the collection method used was an e-mail survey sent to the parents of the pupils and a simultaneous survey sent to the personnel in the schools. All 51 schools participated, and 5889 pupils returned the questionnaire (39%). The exposure data was obtained from two building experts who knew the repair history of the schools. A subjective estimation of the quality of the indoor air was obtained from teachers and the parents. The overall prevalence of hoarseness among pupils was 6.3%; prevalence being higher in unrepaired school buildings than in schools in a good condition or buildings with a thorough remediation. Hoarseness was associated with asthma and allergies, several respiratory symptoms, and respiratory infections. Exposure to tobacco smoke increased the risk, and consumption of caffeine containing drinks seemed to reduce the risk. Noise, stuffiness of the indoor air and microbial smells correlated strongly with the occurrence of hoarseness in a logistic regression model when controlled for age, gender, asthma, passive smoking, and caffeine consumption. We recommend renovations in school buildings with the aim of providing better acoustics, sufficient ventilation, and a reduction in exposure to moisture damage microbes.
声音嘶哑和嗓音问题是儿童常见的慢性疾病之一。本研究旨在调查声音嘶哑的流行率、可能的危险因素以及对校舍修复对学童声音嘶哑的影响。 材料来自芬兰南部一个大城市的所有学校，收集方法是向学生家长发送电子邮件调查和同时向学校工作人员发送调查。 所有 51 所学校都参与了调查，共有 5889 名学生（39%）返回了问卷。暴露数据是由两位熟悉学校维修历史的建筑专家获得的。教师和家长对室内空气质量的主观评价。学生中声音嘶哑的总体流行率为 6.3%；未修复的校舍的流行率高于状况良好的校舍或彻底修复的校舍。声音嘶哑与哮喘和过敏、几种呼吸道症状和呼吸道感染有关。接触烟草烟雾会增加风险，而饮用含咖啡因的饮料似乎会降低风险。在控制年龄、性别、哮喘、被动吸烟和咖啡因摄入的情况下，噪音、室内空气闷热和微生物气味在逻辑回归模型中与声音嘶哑的发生密切相关。 我们建议对校舍进行翻新，以提供更好的音响效果、充足的通风，并减少对潮湿损害微生物的暴露。
