Search

The dynamics of indoor environmental conditions, human occupancy, and operational characteristics of buildings influence human comfort and indoor environmental quality, including the survival and progression of microbial communities. A suite of continuous, long-term environmental and operational parameters were measured in ten patient rooms and two nurse stations in a new hospital building in Chicago, IL to characterize the indoor environment in which microbial samples were taken for the Hospital Microbiome Project. Measurements included environmental conditions (indoor dry-bulb temperature, relative humidity, humidity ratio, and illuminance) in the patient rooms and nurse stations; differential pressure between the patient rooms and hallways; surrogate measures for human occupancy and activity in the patient rooms using both indoor air CO2 concentrations and infrared doorway beam-break counters; and outdoor air fractions in the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems serving the sampled spaces. Measurements were made at 5-minute intervals over consecutive days for nearly one year, providing a total of ∼8×106 data points. Indoor temperature, illuminance, and human occupancy/activity were all weakly correlated between rooms, while relative humidity, humidity ratio, and outdoor air fractions showed strong temporal (seasonal) patterns and strong spatial correlations between rooms. Differential pressure measurements confirmed that all patient rooms were operated at neutral pressure. The patient rooms averaged about 100 combined entrances and exits per day, which suggests they were relatively lightly occupied compared to higher traffic environments (e.g., retail buildings) and more similar to lower traffic office environments. There were also clear differences in several environmental parameters before and after the hospital was occupied with patients and staff. Characterizing and understanding factors that influence these building dynamics is vital for hospital environments, where they can impact patient health and the survival and spread of healthcare associated infections.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic triggered an increase in remote work-from-home for office workers. Given that many homes now function as offices despite not being designed to support office work, it is critical to research the impact of indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes on the cognitive performance of people working from home. In this study, we followed 206 office workers across the U.S. over one year under remote or hybrid-remote settings during 2021–2022. Participants placed two real-time, consumer-grade indoor environmental monitors in their home workstation area and bedroom. Using a custom smartphone application geofenced to their residential address, participants responded to surveys and periodic cognitive function tests, including the Stroop color–word interference test, Arithmetic two-digit addition/subtraction test, and Compound Remote Associates Task (cRAT). Exposures assessed included carbon dioxide (CO 2) and thermal conditions (indoor heat index: a combination of temperature and relative humidity) averaged over 30 min prior to each cognitive test. In fully adjusted longitudinal mixed models (n ≤ 121), we found that indoor thermal conditions at home were associated with cognitive function outcomes non-linearly (p < 0.05), with poorer cognitive performance on the Stroop test and poorer creative problem-solving on the cRAT when conditions were either too warm or too cool. Most indoor CO 2 levels were <640 ppm, but there was still a slight association between higher CO 2 and poorer cognitive performance on Stroop (p = 0.09). Our findings highlight the need to enhance home indoor environmental quality for optimal cognitive function during remote work, with benefits for both employees and employers. • Office workers were followed for one year while working from home during 2021–22. • Home indoor air quality was tracked with real-time commercial monitors. • Cognitive function was regularly tested through 3 brain tests in custom phone app. • Poor thermal conditions were associated with worse cognitive function or creativity. • Carbon dioxide, even at low levels, was slightly associated with poor cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]