A Prevalence Study of Work-Related Health Complaints in Wellington and Auckland

The Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is the occurrence of acute health and comfort systems linked lo the occupancy of a building. To assess the prevalence of SBS in New Zealand office environments, 1200 office personnel were randomly selected from the 1995 Wellington and Auckland regions ofthe New Zealand General Electoral Role. A questionaire study was used to investigate work related symptoms. A responserateof44.25%(506respondents)was achieved. The most common self-reported symptoms were letbargyf tiredness (50.3%), concentration difficulties (44.9%), headache (38%) and nasal irritation (33.9%)- Female respondents reported higher number of work-related symptoms of all symptom categories. Location did not make a difference to symptoms reported. Work-related symptom prevalence was higher for clerical! secretarial roles than managerial roles. Respondents with a predisposition to asthma, bayfever and eczema reported increased symptoms in comparison to non-atopic respondents.