Asthmatic symptoms and volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and carbon dioxide in dwellings.

Explores possible relations between symptoms of asthma, building characteristics and indoor concentration of volatile organic compounds in residential buildings. 88 persons from middle Sweden were studied. Measurements were taken at home of room temperature, air humidity, respirable duct, carbon dioxide, VOCs, formaldehyde and house dust mites. Health tests were also performed. Found that symptoms related to asthma were more common in homes with house dust mites and visible signs of dampness or microbial growth. Night-time breathlessness was also found to link to the presence of wall to wall carpets and indoor CO2, formaldehyde and VOCs. 26% of the homes were found to exceed the recommended CO2 limit value. Concludes that there is a need to increase outdoor air supply, and to avoid wall to wall carpeting and dampness. Construction should aim to minimise use of VOC emitters.