Many studies have been conducted to assess the effects of indoor air quality (IAQ) on human health. However, there is still a lack of studies available about the adverse health effects on children’s respiratory health at Child Care Centers (CCC). The aim of this paper was to investigate the risk factors for respiratory symptoms and identify the root cause of IAQ problems at CCCs in Malaysia. The Modified American Thoracic Society and the Division of Lung Diseases (ATS-DLD-82) questionnaire was used to gather information from parents regarding their children’s respiratory symptoms. The IAQ parameters measured were for air temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, respirable particles (PM_2.5), viable bacteria and fungi count while the information on CCC characteristics and potential surrounding air pollutants were collected via a combination of area monitoring, inspection and interviews. Factors found to be significantly associated with persistent cough and/or cold were age, type of ventilation, location of CCC, floor area per child (<3.5 m²) and temperature. Children attending CCCs supplied by ACMV had the highest risk for prevalence of persistent productive cough [5.56 (CI: 2.20; 14.00)]. This study provided the baseline data on IAQ and possible factors that influenced indoor air contaminants, which could aid policy makers in formulating guidelines on IAQ for CCC in Malaysia.

已经进行了许多研究来评估室内空气质量（IAQ）对人体健康的影响。但是，仍然缺乏关于儿童保健中心（CCC）对儿童呼吸健康的不利健康影响的研究。本文的目的是调查呼吸系统症状的危险因素，并确定马来西亚CCC IAQ问题的根本原因。修改后的美国胸科学会和肺病科（ATS-DLD-82）问卷用于从父母那里收集有关孩子呼吸道症状的信息。IAQ参数针对空气温度，湿度，二氧化碳，一氧化碳，可吸入颗粒物（PM _2.5），活菌和真菌计数，同时通过区域监测，检查和采访相结合的方式收集有关CCC特性和潜在的周围空气污染物的信息。发现与持续咳嗽和/或感冒显着相关的因素是年龄，通气类型，CCC位置，每名儿童的占地面积（<3.5  m ²）和温度。参加由ACMV提供的CCC的儿童患持续性生产性咳嗽的风险最高[5.56（CI：2.20; 14.00）]。这项研究提供了有关室内空气质量的基准数据以及影响室内空气污染物的可能因素，这可以帮助政策制定者制定马来西亚CCC室内空气质量的指南。