ArticleInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2016
Exploration of the effects of classroom humidity levels on teachers' respiratory symptoms.
Article in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Humidification of indoor air for preventing or reducing dryness symptoms or upper respiratory infections in educational settings and at the workplace.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Environmental exposure to air pollution and climate: Intersecting the impact on ear and nose health and chemosensory function (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Sensors for Context-Aware Smart Healthcare: A Security Perspective.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposePrevious studies indicate that teachers have higher asthma prevalence than other non-industrial worker groups. Schools frequently have trouble maintaining indoor relative humidity (RH) within the optimum range (30-50 %) for reducing allergens and irritants. However, the potential relationship between classroom humidity and teachers' health has not been explored. Thus, we examined the relationship between classroom humidity levels and respiratory symptoms among North Carolina teachers.
methodsTeachers (n = 122) recorded daily symptoms, while data-logging hygrometers recorded classroom RH levels in ten North Carolina schools. We examined effects of indoor humidity on occurrence of symptoms using modified Poisson regression models for correlated binary data.
resultsThe risk of asthma-like symptoms among teachers with classroom RH >50 % for 5 days was 1.27 (95 % Confidence Interval (CI) 0.81, 2.00) times the risk among the referent (teachers with classroom RH 30-50 %). The risk of cold/allergy symptoms among teachers with classroom RH >50 % for 5 days was 1.06 (95 % CI 0.82, 1.37) times the risk among the referent. Low RH (<30 %) for 5 days was associated with increased risk of asthma-like [risk ratio (RR) = 1.26 (95 % CI 0.73, 2.17)] and cold/allergy symptoms [RR = 1.11 (95 % CI 0.90, 1.37)].
conclusionsOur findings suggest that prolonged exposure to high or low classroom RH was associated with modest (but not statistically significant) increases in the risk of respiratory symptoms among teachers.
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Registered trials
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