Objective: To evaluate the association between indoor air quality in Coimbra schools and the prevalence of diseases, including allergic and respiratory in children.
Methods: We evaluated 1019 students. The evaluation was conducted
using a questionnaire that included questions regarding demographic
characteristics, social and behavior of students, and the presence of smoking
in the family. It was also evaluated the indoor air quality in schools
fifty-one city of Coimbra.
Results: We found average concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2)
inside the classrooms above the maximum concentration of reference, especially
in the fall / winter, reaching values of 1942ppm, which implies high potential
risk to the health of children. Symptoms / most prevalent respiratory diseases in
children were sneezing, rhinitis, and asthma, wheezing and whistles. We found
also prevalence of poor concentration, cough, headache and irritation of mucous
membranes. It was also found that lack of concentration was found to
be associated in children exposed to classrooms where CO2 values>984ppm (p =
0.002).
Conclusion: Most schools studied had reasonable air quality and
thermal comfort, although the concentration of various pollutants, especially
CO2 may indicate the opportunity to make corrective interventions, including
reducing the sources and promoting greater ventilation. We found a
statistically significant association between lack of concentration and
exposure to elevated CO2. For the other results were not statistically
significant can be explained by the low level of pollution in the city of
Coimbra.
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