Atsuo Nozaki

Use of QEESI© questionnaire for a screening study in Japan

QEESI© (Miller and Prihoda, 1999a: Toxicology and Industrial Health, 15, 370) was applied to 498 subjects, recruited from the general population of Miyagi prefecture, Japan, who had not been diagnosed previously as having multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or sick building syndrome. Seventeen (3.8%) of 440 subjects who returned valid completed questionnaires were classified as having symptoms ‘very suggestive’ of MCS using the four-classification system of Miller and Prihoda (1999a). We conducted detailed telephone interviews with these 17 individuals. All were visiting local hospitals on an outpatient basis with diagnoses other than MCS and had either current or previous presumed chemical exposure. Therefore, we recommended they undergo a medical check by MCS medical experts and indoor air quality assessment. Seven subjects participated in both the medical check and indoor air quality monitoring, six subjects participated in indoor air quality monitoring only and four subjects participated in neither. The seven subjects who participated in both the medical check and monitoring were diagnosed as having MCS by the above expert physicians. In nine houses of 13 subjects who participated in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) survey, acetaldehyde (9/9), formaldehyde (8/9), total volatile compounds (TVOCs) (6/9) and paradichlorobenzene (3/9) levels were above the respective guideline values for indoor air concentrations, outlined by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and were presumed to act as factors contributing to the subjects’ hypersensitivity and onset or development of symptoms. These results suggested that there might still be a population of patients not properly diagnosed as having MCS by clinicians in Japan. Therefore, we verified the efficacy of QEESI (Japanese version) for screening of MCS patients. The results of indoor air quality analysis suggested the manifestation and deterioration of MCS in Japan might be precipitated by indoor air pollutants, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, volatile compounds (VOCs) and paradichlorobenzene.

Long-Termed Field Survey of Indoor Air Quality and Health Hazards in Sick House

Abstract In order to determine the factors of origin of Sick House Syndrome (SHS), data of indoor air quality in the sick houses and field survey were collected and carried out respectively, over three summer seasons from 2000 to 2002, from 35 houses where occupants are suspected of suffering from the so-called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and SHS, in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan. This survey consisted of the measurements of indoor air pollutants (the concentration of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC)), air tightness and ventilation rate, together with questionnaire regarding environmental conditions, subjective symptoms and lifestyle. Medical examination was also conducted to residents having heavy symptoms. In addition, 15 houses out of 35 houses were investigated continuously for another two or three years. As the results, the average values of formaldehyde concentration and TVOC of the investigated rooms from this study are 0.12 ppm and 1557 μg/m3, respectively. The formaldehyde concentration in over 71% of rooms exceeds the guideline from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. While the VOC concentrations have been reducing, the formaldehyde concentration has hardly changed. The most frequently described symptoms are mucosal and respiratory symptoms (such as eye irritation, sore throat, cough). In addition, it is revealed that many patients are found having allergic diseases. The relationships between the measurement results of indoor chemical substance concentrations and the symptoms obtained from questionnaire, suggest that the symptoms become serious not only in the houses with higher concentration of TVOC, but also in the houses with lower concentration.