Thermal Comfort in Residences Related to Respiratory Diseases among Preschool Children in Shanghai

Abstract Objective This study aimed to explore the thermal comfort situation in children's bedrooms and its association with the prevalence of respiratory diseases among children. Method On basis of field measurements in 454 families conducted by CCHH (China, Children, Home, Health) study group in Shanghai during 2013–2014, 167 samples inspected in transition season were selected to study the thermal sensation and thermal comfort of children in residential environments. Pearson χ2 test and multiple logistic regression were employed to examine the thermal comfort and respiratory diseases among children. Results In the transition season, 24% of the residents had the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) higher than 40%. The prevalence of children with asthma, dry cough, and pneumonia were 37.7%, 31.1%, and 31.7%, respectively, where boys had a higher prevalence than girls. Children's thermal discomfort (indicators: PMV, PPD, SET) had a dose–response relationship with respiratory diseases. Compared with the neutral thermal environment (PMV[-1, 0, +1]), cold environment (PMV [-3, −2]) was associated with a higher risk of asthma, dry cough and pneumonia in children for odds ratio (95%CI, P  Conclusions In transition season, the thermal conditions in children's bedrooms in Shanghai were worse than expected, where PMV presented as cool to cold and high PPD. The risk of asthma and pneumonia increased significantly with the thermal discomfort and showing the sensitivity to “gender” and “weight” of children. The dose–response relationship suggested paying more attention to thermal comfort and adverse health outcomes caused by relative cold environment in transition season.