"Sick building syndrome is a myth" reads the headline on a Royal College of Psychiatrists' press release. The release summarizes a study conducted by the epidemiology and public health department of University College London, and presented at the psychiatrists' annual conference in early July.
Architectural researcher Alexi Marmot, who headed up the study, told the society that her team's research indicates that physical building factors are not to blame for symptoms like sore throats, colds, rashes, fatigue, itchy eyes, coughs and headaches which are commonly linked to sick building syndrome. Instead, psychosocial factors like job dissatisfaction, a poor outlook on life, long commutes, second-hand smoke exposure, and poor housing show far stronger associations with the symptoms, she says.