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Gender Influences in Indoor Air Quality Perception for Individuals in Tropical Climate
Gustavo S Graudenz1,2*, Joao Alexandre Paschoalin-Filho1, Andreza Portella Ribeiro1 and Arlindo Tribess31Environmental Management and Sustainability Master Program, University Nove de Julho, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2Medical Science Department, University Nove de Julho, Sao Paulo, Brazil
3Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
- *Corresponding Author:
- Gustavo Silveira Graudenz
GeAS – UNINOVE
Rua Francisco Matarazzo 612, São Paulo, Brazil
Tel: 5511-70289141
Fax: 5511-36659301
E-mail: graudenz@uninove.br
Received date: October 09, 2013; Accepted date: November 22, 2013; Published date: November 29, 2013
Citation: Graudenz GS, Paschoalin-Filho JA, Ribeiro AP, Tribess A (2013) Gender Influences in Indoor Air Quality Perception for Individuals in Tropical Climate. Occup Med Health Aff 1:142. doi: 10.4172/2329-6879.1000142
Copyright: © 2013 Graudenz GS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Gender differences in indoor air quality perception are still controversial and geographic and climate variations can alter substantially the perceived indoor air quality. The aim of this study was to compare differences and analyze data on indoor air quality perception between genders in individuals living in the tropics. To address this question thirty-three subjects grouped by gender were exposed to 14, 18, 22 and
26 degrees Celsius (°C) - or correspondingly, 57.2, 64.4, 71.6 and 78.8 degrees Fahrenheit (F) - with a relative humidity of the indoor air of 65 ± 7% in an experimental office environment. Results were obtained by a selfadministered visual analogue scale questionnaire and analyzed using mean score comparisons and principal component analysis of indoor air perception. The results demonstrated that apart from colder temperatures far from thermoneutrality both groups showed no differences in IAQ scores and very close patterns of indoor air quality perception. This study suggests a role for other contributing factors as cultural and dressing habits as determinants to gender differences in indoor air-quality perception concerning individuals living in tropical climate.
