Exposure to human body odors indoors can result in discomfort, dissatisfaction and psychosomatic effects. Odorous bioeffluents can be classified as volatile or semi-volatile organic chemicals, and are usually at very low air concentrations. Building ventilation standards are designed to mitigate occupant dissatisfaction associated with such chemical exposure, and human odor sensory panels have been used for the assessment of satisfaction. However, there appears to be a limited understanding of ventilation and supplementary air cleaning as exposure control measures for specific classes of body odor chemicals, some of which appear to be diagnostic of body regions. A multidisciplinary narrative literature review was conducted across five databases and the evidence assessed using the source-path-receiver conceptual framework. To advance knowledge with respect to body odor chemical classes, a pilot study examining the removal efficiency of an advanced multi-modal air cleaner challenged with representative underarm and foot odor chemicals was conducted. The review highlighted a range of exploratory studies, and systematic research programs mostly in controlled laboratory settings. The studies addressed general ventilation, local exhaust ventilation and supplementary air cleaning technologies. Few studies investigated specific odorous chemicals. The pilot study demonstrated efficient removal of highly odorous aldehydes and carboxylic acids in single pass laboratory experiments. Further studies with a wider range of chemicals, and in real world settings should be undertaken. Human odor sensory panels can be used in conjunction with real time chemical analysis to optimize body odor control measures.
Pisaniello et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: