Self-reported rhinitis and headaches of students from universities in Taiwan, Chile, Suriname, China and the Netherlands, and its association with their home environment

ABSTRACT Next to personal, psychosocial and physiological aspects, environmental aspects of homes may affect the health and comfort of their occupants. This study aimed to investigate the multifactorial character of both rhinitis and headaches among five groups of students from universities in five different cities: Taichung (Taiwan), Concepcion (Chile), Paramaribo (Suriname), Beijing (China) and Delft (The Netherlands). Among the students studied, 18% declared having suffered from rhinitis in the last 12 months, and 30% from headaches in the last 3 months. Self-reported characteristics of 682 students and their homes were linked to self-reported rhinitis and headaches. Logistic regression modelling was applied to explore relations between building-related factors and rhinitis, and between building-related factors and headaches. After full adjustment, the regression model for both rhinitis and headaches confirmed their multifactorial character. While personal-related factors family rhinitis and age were associated with rhinitis, negative events and PANAS negative were with headaches. Biological pollutants (caused by pets) were associated both with rhinitis and headaches; chemical pollutants, caused by open bookshelves and lack of sweeping floors, were associated with rhinitis. The study concludes that the identified risk factors seemed independent of season or climate region.