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Association of classroom ventilation with reduced illness absence: a prospective study in C alifornia elementary schools
Author(s) -
Mendell M. J.,
Eliseeva E. A.,
Davies M. M.,
Spears M.,
Lobscheid A.,
Fisk W. J.,
Apte M. G.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/ina.12042
Subject(s) - attendance , demography , south carolina , ventilation (architecture) , bay , psychology , geography , medicine , meteorology , economics , sociology , political science , economic growth , public administration , archaeology
Limited evidence associates inadequate classroom ventilation rates ( VR s) with increased illness absence ( IA ). We investigated relationships between VR s and IA in California elementary schools over two school years in 162 3rd–5th‐grade classrooms in 28 schools in three school districts: South Coast ( SC ), Bay Area ( BA ), and Central Valley ( CV ). We estimated relationships between daily IA and VR (estimated from two year daily real‐time carbon dioxide in each classroom) in zero‐inflated negative binomial models. We also compared IA benefits and energy costs of increased VR s. All school districts had median VR s below the 7.1 l/s‐person California standard. For each additional 1 l/s‐person of VR , IA was reduced significantly (p<0.05) in models for combined districts (−1.6%) and for SC (−1.2%), and nonsignificantly for districts providing less data: BA (−1.5%) and CV (−1.0%). Assuming associations were causal and generalizable, increasing classroom VR s from the California average (4 l/s‐person) to the State standard would decrease IA by 3.4%, increase attendance‐linked funding to schools by $33 million annually, and increase costs by only $4 million. Further increasing VR s would provide additional benefits. These findings, while requiring confirmation, suggest that increasing classroom VR s above the State standard would substantially decrease illness absence and produce economic benefits.