Applicability of a set of diagnostic tests in indoor air health research

Following recommendations from literature, 22 diagnostic tests for the most frequent complaints of indoor air health problems were selected and assessed for their applicability in epidemiological studies. The tests were applied seven times during one year to 40 volunteers who to all appearances were not affected by indoor air health problems. Most psychophysical tests (e. g., Continuous Performance Test) turned out to be suitable, but physiological tests were either heavily disturbed by technical problems (e. g., portable electrogastrography), or biased by application techniques (e. g., acoustic rhinometry), or were simply too time-consuming (e. g., PC-based voice analysis). Hence, as standardized measurements and quantitative diagnostic tests in epidemiological indoor air health research may contribute to a better understanding of cause-effect relationships and yield new approaches for preventive and therapeutic strategies, more research is urgently needed to develop and evaluate suitable physiological tests and functional measurements.