Use of QEESI© questionnaire for a screening study in Japan

QEESI© (Miller and Prihoda, 1999a: Toxicology and Industrial Health, 15, 370) was applied to 498 subjects, recruited from the general population of Miyagi prefecture, Japan, who had not been diagnosed previously as having multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or sick building syndrome. Seventeen (3.8%) of 440 subjects who returned valid completed questionnaires were classified as having symptoms ‘very suggestive’ of MCS using the four-classification system of Miller and Prihoda (1999a). We conducted detailed telephone interviews with these 17 individuals. All were visiting local hospitals on an outpatient basis with diagnoses other than MCS and had either current or previous presumed chemical exposure. Therefore, we recommended they undergo a medical check by MCS medical experts and indoor air quality assessment. Seven subjects participated in both the medical check and indoor air quality monitoring, six subjects participated in indoor air quality monitoring only and four subjects participated in neither. The seven subjects who participated in both the medical check and monitoring were diagnosed as having MCS by the above expert physicians. In nine houses of 13 subjects who participated in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) survey, acetaldehyde (9/9), formaldehyde (8/9), total volatile compounds (TVOCs) (6/9) and paradichlorobenzene (3/9) levels were above the respective guideline values for indoor air concentrations, outlined by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan and were presumed to act as factors contributing to the subjects’ hypersensitivity and onset or development of symptoms. These results suggested that there might still be a population of patients not properly diagnosed as having MCS by clinicians in Japan. Therefore, we verified the efficacy of QEESI (Japanese version) for screening of MCS patients. The results of indoor air quality analysis suggested the manifestation and deterioration of MCS in Japan might be precipitated by indoor air pollutants, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, volatile compounds (VOCs) and paradichlorobenzene.