Comparison of subjective symptoms associated with exposure to low levels of formaldehyde between students enrolled and not enrolled in a gross anatomy course.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate students' subjective symptoms associated with exposure to low levels of formaldehyde (FA) during a gross anatomy course and to survey how the risk of subjective symptoms was affected by exposure to FA.

Methods: We conducted three questionnaire surveys of 125 students enrolled in an anatomy course (FA exposure group) and 124 students not enrolled in the course (FA nonexposure group) before, during, and 6 months after the course. The questionnaire included questions inquiring about subjective symptoms, sex, age, and allergies. We analyzed differences in the prevalence of subjective symptoms in distinct survey periods. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the subjective symptoms and exposure to FA after adjusting for allergy, sex, and age using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results: The prevalence of some of the ocular, nasal, and nonspecific symptoms in the FA exposure group was low before the course, increased during the course and decreased 6 months after the course. A significant positive relationship was observed between exposure to FA and some symptoms after adjusting for allergy, sex, and age.

Conclusions: We identified some concrete symptoms associated with exposure to FA. We suggest that the exposure to low levels of FA influences students' subjective symptoms.