After being diagnosed with hyperplasia of cervical spondylosis, Tian Wen was gloomy for months.

"I was told on March 12," said the young man, who works as a sales person. "Doctors told me that it was mainly caused by fatigue and incorrect posture while sitting at my desk in the office."

With four years' experience in the company, Tian ignored necessary rest for relaxation to reduce his stress.

"I had always thought that I was young, healthy and strong, and could stand the pressure," he said. "But I found I was wrong."

Now Tian must deal with chronic pain in the back of his neck. He may never live pain-free again. Whenever Tian must work long hours, he will suffer from neck pain and numb arms.

"It is really annoying, but I have to stop my work for a while," he said. "I should have paid attention to that."

Tian regrets working too hard in the past. He longs for holidays and travelling, yet he knows he cannot make it up.

"I never realized the importance of health," he added.

Failing eyesight

However, Tian's problem is not rare among other young white-collar workers. Although they are admired by others for their better income and comfortable work environment, more and more of these young people working in office buildings are suffering from similar ailments, such as headaches, failing eyesight, nervousness and depression. Some even find a drop in sexual desire.

These ailments have been attributed to the office environment and the stressful work. The bad ventilation that results from air-conditioning also helps spread illness.

Actually, the hazards of working in an office can never be neglected, despite the seemingly comfortable environment.

Chen Xingyuan, vice director with the Arthrosteopedic Surgery of Longhua Hospital, said nowadays an increasing number of young white-collar workers are being diagnosed with cervical spondylosis.

"Ten years ago, the disease struck only those above 40, but nowadays, more and more young people between the ages of 20 and 30 are finding themselves with this disease," said Chen. "This is actually part of office-related illnesses."

Most office-related illnesses are chronic such as pains in the neck and back, shoulders, lower extremities, arms, wrists, hands, and a general feeling of tension and irritability, as well as vision problems and respiratory diseases.

"Although they are not acute, they can be a life-long problem," Chen said.

Traditional Chinese medicine theory has it that cervical spondylosis is a chronic joint and muscles strain, resulting from long-time work and inactivity. "Stationary office workers are most likely to get the disease."

"Also air-conditioning in offices is most likely to cause rheumatism," said Chen. "Young office workers who get rheumatism will feel worse when they grow old. Usually it cannot be cured completely."

Bad indoor air

In addition, bad ventilation in the office may cause laryngopharyngitis, or inflammation of the larynx and pharynx, according to Liao Meilin, an expert in respiratory diseases in Shanghai Chest Hospital. "This is generally related to bad indoor air quality (IAQ), which results from inadequate ventilation, chemical contaminants from indoor sources and biological contaminants," said the professor.

Actually, IAQ is an increasingly important issue in the work environment.

According to a recent report from World Health Organization, the study of IAQ and pollutant levels within office environments is a complex problem and the complexity of studying and measuring the quality of office environments arises from various factors, including building renovations such as installation of new carpets, modular office partitions and paintings. "In some serious cases, bad indoor air quality will cause lung cancer," she added.

"Respiratory diseases can strike a group of people who work in a relatively compact and central air-conditioned room because bacteria can grow in the ventilation tubes and spread through the draft," said Pang Zhonghua, vice director of Respiratory Department with Huadong Hospital. "In this environment, one is likely to develop respiratory problems, and if one person is affected with the disease, several others tend to get it too."

In a modern office building, the heating ventilation and air conditioning system is designed to keep occupants comfortable and healthy by controlling the amount of outside air that is added to the building atmosphere, filtering both incoming and re-circulated air to remove particulates and control temperature. "A good ventilation design will distribute air uniformly to each area and especially areas with office machines," explained Pang. "If in a badly ventilated building, one will complain of symptoms associated with acute discomfort such as headache, eye, nose or throat irritation, nausea, fatigue and sensitivity to odors."

Dermatitis

In addition, vision problems are also one of the leading sources of complaints among office workers.

According to Ren Jianping, an ophthalmologist in Shuguang Hospital, poor office lighting and long-time focusing can cause eye strain and irritation, fatigue, double vision, watering and reddening of the eyelids, as well as a decrease in the power of focus and visual acuity.

"If one focuses on the computer for more than two hours, he is sure to feel some discomfort in his eyes," said Pang. "And these years, more young white collar workers are suffering from eye diseases, mostly because of the widespread use of computers in office work."

According to Wang Weijun, a gynecologist at Huadong Hospital, the radiation from the computer, to some extent, will even effect an pregnant woman. "Although there is no exact figure on how big the effect of radiation from computers has on a pregnant woman because one can hardly find an example to do the experiment, the effect is surely there, sometimes, it even cause dermatitis - inflammation of the skin."

The picture shows that a computer technician uses a back tapper to relieve pain and stiffness after long hours in front of the screen.

(Shanghai Star May 16, 2002)