Indoor Air Quality and Immune Health: What Women in Midlife Need to Know

Indoor air quality plays a larger role in health than most people realize.

From homes and offices to airports and hospitals, the air we breathe can influence immune health, respiratory function, and overall well-being, especially in midlife.

As women move through their 40s, 50s, and beyond, immune resilience and environmental awareness often become more personal. This episode of The Natalie Tysdal Podcast explores how airborne pathogens, air purification systems, and hidden chemical exposures may affect health and what you can realistically do about it.

If you’ve ever wondered:

• Is my air purifier actually working?

• Do hospital air systems reduce infection risk?

• Can low-level mold or airborne chemicals affect immunity?

• Are some air filtration systems producing ozone?

This conversation offers grounded, science-based clarity.

WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS

How Indoor Air Quality Affects Immune Health

Understanding airborne pathogens, including viruses, mold spores, and chemical compounds that exist below the level of smell and why they matter.

The Difference Between Air Filtration and Air Purification

Why standard HVAC filters capture particles but may not eliminate biological contaminants.

Air Quality in Hospitals, Senior Living, and Airports

What research shows about infection control, hospital-acquired infections, and how advanced air systems reduce risk.

Mold, Ozone, and “Clean Smells”

Why some air purifiers may produce ozone as a byproduct — and what that means for respiratory and immune health.

Practical Questions to Ask About Your Air

Simple ways to advocate for cleaner indoor air at home, school, work, or healthcare facilities.

WHY INDOOR AIR QUALITY MATTERS

Midlife is often a season of heightened health awareness. Hormonal changes, evolving immune function, caregiving responsibilities, and increased time indoors all make environmental factors more relevant.

Understanding indoor air quality doesn’t require fear. It requires awareness.

This episode translates clinical research including data from IVF labs, hospitals, and senior living communities into practical insight you can use in everyday life.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Kathryn Worrilow is a reproductive physiologist and founder of LifeAire Systems. Her work began with improving air quality in IVF laboratories to protect human embryos and has expanded to hospitals, senior living facilities, and public spaces focused on infection control and immune protection.

Her expertise offers a clear, evidence-based perspective on air purification technology and its real-world impact on health.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

Listen now for steady, research-backed insight into indoor air quality and immune health and how informed awareness can support long-term wellbeing.

New episodes of The Natalie Tysdal Podcast are released weekly, bringing credible conversations to women navigating midlife health with clarity and confidence.

RESOURES

Guest website: https://www.lifeairsystems.com

DISCLAIMER

Natalie Tysdal is a health journalist, not a licensed medical professional. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Transcript

Natalie Tysdal (02:43)

Dr. Werlow, thank you so much for joining me.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (02:46)

Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to our conversation.

Natalie Tysdal (02:49)

Well, in my hundreds of episodes, I have not done an episode surprising on air quality and why it matters. Purification are these things that we're putting in our homes and that we hear about really making a difference. So I know this is your passion. I want to hear your background. But give me a little bit of why it matters.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (03:11)

I it matters so much. For me personally, it's a labor of love now because ⁓ about 10 years ago, we discovered the impact that air quality was having on our clinical outcomes in patient care. And from that process, from the start of that process, we've now learned the impact of very low level airborne pathogens, meaning very low level chemical pathogens, which are anything you can smell.

you know, alcohols, your acetones, perfumes, very low levels of those, which frankly we can't even detect with our nose. If you can smell something right now, Natalie, a cup of coffee, you know, pastry, that's parts per million. So what we learned the hard way through negative data is that the presence of parts per billion, so it's three logs lower.

than parts per million, that the presence of chemical pathogens that we're not even aware are in the air can impact our health and wellness. We also learned that very low level biologicals, viruses and fungi can impact our health and wellness. So it was really, we've learned a lot over decades of the impact of air quality. It began with the human embryo and IVF. ⁓

all the way now through studies in healthcare, senior living, airports, transportation, where we live, where we work. ⁓ In particular, those that may have ⁓ compromised immune system or going through oncology treatments or have challenges with their respiratory systems, asthma, allergies, all of this can impact our ongoing health and wellness. And it's really...

My passion for it comes from first its impact on patient care and secondly, know, the ongoing studies that we're doing to learn more about the significance of the impact.

Natalie Tysdal (05:18)

So a

couple of things with this. I want to hear the history though, because I think it's fascinating how you ended up here. For the average person who is seemingly healthy, do we need to worry about that?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (05:32)

I, seemingly healthy, obviously far less so.

Natalie Tysdal (05:37)

I say seemingly because we might not know we have

these things. Some of the autoimmune or different things, we might not know. And so our immune systems might be more compromised than we realize, but for the average person.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (05:50)

Right. mean, for the average person, I guess we've learned so much about the impact of very low levels of airborne pathogens. It would probably be wise just to ask questions. Just ask your HVAC technician who's servicing your furnace in your home, what air filtration do I have for my home? Could it be a step above?

what is typically provided. And I would just say, whether you're healthy or have challenges, be your own advocate for health and ask the questions. Whether it's your home or your office or you're seeing a physician or wherever your travels take you, be an advocate and ask those questions. And I'm a believer in you can't manage what you don't measure. So do you have a sense of what

Natalie Tysdal (06:43)

Absolutely. Your approach is,

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (06:45)

what the air

Natalie Tysdal (06:46)

yeah.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (06:46)

quality is in the doctor's office or the OR or the ICU or for your parents or loved one in senior living. There's a tremendous education, there's a tremendous awareness ⁓ that I think needs to be ongoing.

Natalie Tysdal (07:05)

Yeah, my son just got over a really terrible, he's a teenager, bout with flu A this year. So let's use that as an example of why this matters. mean, it kind of went through his volleyball team. So at some point, are we just going to catch things? Or is the air where we're breathing these things and these types of issues, can we make a difference with contracting something like that?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (07:12)

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ I, we work a lot with infection control specialists and ⁓ there's a consensus and it's evolving but there's a consensus of, you know, there is no one magic bullet. I mean, you really, you need to address all the variables. Infection control or just in your homes or your offices needs to be a very dynamic process. So obviously, the hand washing, know, cleanliness, but also air is typically a variable that's ignored.

or standard filtration is put in. So standard filtration works by capturing airborne pathogens. So by capturing your biologicals and your fungal spores, just by their size, by capturing them, they're not killed. They still exist on that filter. So they're existing in a growing proportion above the space either where you live or you work.

or you're trying to function clinically. So that's something to pay attention to. What is in your system and how does it operate? And could you take it a step to improve that for your own health? So absolutely airborne transmission is a very predominant ⁓ mechanism of transmission of the flu, measles, COVID. mean, viruses survive by mutating.

I mean, this year's flu has mutated to a very significant degree. ⁓ And that's how viruses operate. and you know, most are transmitted via the air. So, you know, if that variable can be added to the checklist, I think it's going to help all of us. Are we going to completely avoid getting the flu? Of course not, because you're going to be exposed in all types of scenarios. But at least, you know, in certain areas, that protection could be there.

Natalie Tysdal (09:29)

Well, let's, okay, so let's talk about the history of where this all came from because it's so fascinating ⁓ how you were working in an environment that required a very clean air. So tell me the history.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (09:42)

So, Natalie, I'm a reproductive physiologist by training, and I was honored to be a clinical provider of human and vitro fertilization, really for the bulk of my career. And I loved, I was really just honored to be a part of that and just be a part of the process and the journey of individuals or couples hoping to fulfill their dreams of having a family. And through a 20-year period,

We learn the significance of air quality. I everyone in IVF, they're working so diligently to provide the best environment. mean, you're culturing the human embryo for six days outside of the body. That's a very daunting task. And so in doing so, we thought air is probably a variable that could impact our success rates. So let's conduct IVF in a clean room.

and we'll check that box. And so fortunately with the vision of the hospital, they approved it. We built an ISO 5 or class 100 clean room, is a substantial clean room and conducted IVF thinking that was a variable that we no longer had to worry about. It was not going to impact patient care. Well, 20 years later with data, we learned we were wrong. So what we learned was that very low levels that were not controlled by the clean

very low levels of chemical and biological pathogens, biological being your bacteria, viruses, mold spores. Very low levels were still impact, they were still penetrating the clean room and impacting the consistency of our successful culture, the embryo, and therefore our clinical pregnancy rates. And we had years of data of undulations going from very high, you know, very high success rates

to dropping to very low. And what we learned was if they would simply resurface the medevac pad, we were a level one trauma center. So if they would resurface the medevac pad, the warm asphalt was producing a very cytotoxic chemical called toluene, which is very typical. It's a very common constituent of warm asphalt. Tauyene we found had entered our space at very, very low levels. And we learned

what air metrics the human embryo truly needed to consistently be cultured outside the body. And once we learned that box of air, if you will, that we needed to produce, that we were not, ⁓ the hospital CEO literally gave me a blank check and said, purchase a solution, fix this. And there was nothing available commercially that I could.

purchase to solve this issue. And that to me was both personally and professionally unacceptable. We now knew of a variable that was directly impacting the level of care we could provide, but we had no solution. That was the start of my passion for air quality and the genesis of our technology and our company, because something, a solution had to be developed from this.

Natalie Tysdal (13:08)

So now, however many years later, you mentioned 20, so it must be many years beyond that. Are there others? Like if I'm buying a, explain to me the difference of I've got a little air purifier filter, I don't even know what to call it, over here. It was probably around 200, $300. It's in my house. How is that different from what you're talking about and what's really necessary to help us?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (13:37)

Well, ⁓ the technology that was born from this issue, actually it was just born about 10 years ago. So it is more recent. ⁓ But because this technology was designed to protect the human embryo, we set the design bar very, very high. And I'm saying that to answer your question. So in other words, we chose the anthrax board ⁓ to kill on a single pass.

meaning a single pass of air through the technology. you know, your in-room purifier is going to purify your air or filter your air, you know, based upon the air changes in your room. So it may take 10, 20, 30 times through that air purifier to deliver the air quality that you need. So what we wanted was that delivery of air quality on a single pass.

And the reason we chose anthrax is because that's the hardest thing to kill. That's the hardest sport to kill. So if you kill that, you easily kill flu, COVID, measles, you know, everything else that we really are concerned with. The other bar that we set was to remove chemical pathogens to near below detection. So as I shared, we learned that low levels, parts per billion were impactful to health and wellness.

So we wanted to drive those to near below detection. And that's a daunting task. So the difference between what was designed for IVF and now health care and senior living and airports, the difference between that and what you probably have in your home is, I guess, the bar that was set. And what I would encourage anyone to do is just, you know, ⁓

Natalie Tysdal (15:22)

Yeah.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (15:27)

again, ask the questions, if it's not provided, you know, how through how many cycles through this particular air filtration system does my room air need to go to kill influenza or to kill, you know, I mean, something, you know, very common that could come easily into our homes, you know, how quickly and how many minutes and how many passes and they should have that information. And that'll give you a sense.

Natalie Tysdal (15:52)

Is that something most

HVAC systems, are those filters doing anything? And I say most because I don't know what most people are using. Is it something that our HVAC systems are doing? for the general person listening, does it help to have a $200 purifier that you can buy online or at most places now? Is it doing some good? is your company and others, are you?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (16:17)

⁓ absolutely.

Natalie Tysdal (16:20)

Are you moving towards home systems that really kill the bigger things?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (16:28)

I mean, the air filtration systems that you have, they're absolutely doing something. They're contributing something, especially if you have shedding animals in the house, or you may have somebody with allergies. It's going to help keep it at a more reduced level. It's not going to take it to zero, but it's going to help reduce that enough, hopefully, to give someone comfort. It's definitely going to probably keep the dust levels down. ⁓ But it's not going to reach the metrics that

Natalie Tysdal (16:39)

Mm-hmm.

Great.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (16:58)

that we've been discussing. But it's absolutely contributing to some level. ⁓ And we don't actively market to homes, but when asked, we provide them because we're very healthy.

Natalie Tysdal (17:11)

It sounds like a

very, a market that hasn't been touched though at that level.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (17:15)

I know.

No, it really hasn't. It really hasn't. we haven't just, you know, we're so healthcare-centric. I mean, we are now installed in airports and office spaces, but they actually reached out to us because of the proven efficacy in healthcare. Like they wanted something at that level. So when asked, we do have systems for, I have it in our home.

you know, we do have systems for ⁓ home use. And it's just modeled after the flagship system, which provides the kill that I shared with her.

Natalie Tysdal (17:56)

So if we're talking about airports, where are some of the more dangerous places and are most of them addressing it? Stores, airports, trains, I think when I'm in really crowded places, what's the air like in here? There are a lot of germs going on in here. Do we need to think about that? is that, where are the most dangerous places?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (18:17)

We have learned from our airport installations, we've learned that the TSA area is their greatest point of illness and infection because we all come together. Otherwise, we're fairly spread out except when we're on the flight. But prior to boarding the plane, we're typically fairly spread out. But that's where they see their greatest illness and infection is the TSA area itself. And that's typically where we're targeted to protect. ⁓

And interestingly, it has actually resulted in reduced call outs by the TSA agents. So they're staying healthier as well as, I mean, we can't track the passengers going through with their illness and infection, but the airport is seeing a reduced call out rate among their TSA agents. relative to the terminal, that's probably ⁓ the riskiest area. ⁓ On the planes, ⁓

I close my vent. The return air is typically under your seat, and that's typically where we put some of our carry-ons. We might put them beneath the seat so you have blocked airflow. the airport cabin is, airflow is easily shared. So if 14B has a virus, it can travel quite a distance.

So I typically close my vent.

Natalie Tysdal (19:49)

So, you know, during COVID, masks were the thing. Are we doing some good, especially when traveling? Is that helping? Do I still see people often in stores and places like that, hopefully protecting others if they're sick, that they're trying to prevent coughing or sneezing. But are we getting some good out of using masks?

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (20:09)

⁓ absolutely. Yeah. And especially, you know, a long flight in a very confined area on a plane. You know, absolutely. Definitely, if you feel ⁓ ill, absolutely. But also just very protective for those that are boarding very healthy and don't want to contract anything. ⁓ Especially if you're wearing, you know, an N95 or a proper mask.

Natalie Tysdal (20:35)

Yeah. So I want you to tell me just a little bit about senior healthcare facilities, hospitals. And when I go to a hospital, I'm often thinking, there's a lot of illness here. What are we catching when we walk into these places? So that's where a lot of your focus, I know, has been with your company. But tell me about that and the difference that you've seen in with your business.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (21:01)

Well, we were, after we launched in in vitro fertilization, we were approached by healthcare, non IVF healthcare, say ICUs, MedSurg, ORs, ERs, NICUs. We were approached by acute care healthcare as well as senior living, saying, could your technology help us reduce hospital acquired infections? And,

our nation's averages out of every twenty healthy patients that enter a hospital say for a knee replacement or whatever it may be uh... one out of every twenty develops an illness or infection from the hospital environment that's the national average and so they're you know in that cost is born by the hospital it's you know it's not carried by the patient of their insurance it's carried by the hospital which can be

extremely it's it's it's a financial crisis in our country and so the only answer to that question is to do a complete fully operational clinical study so we put our technology we found two like floors one in healthcare network and one in senior living two identical floors seen identical patients same medical staff we protected one floor with our technology

And then they chose their standard protection, which was a HEPA filtration. They chose that on the control floor. Both completely independent studies and both showed a dramatic reduction anywhere from 30 % in healthcare to 39 % in senior living. A dramatic reduction in hospital acquired infections. And in healthcare that drove length of stay down, which meant the patients were

leaving sooner and then their readmission rates were lower. So if you leave the hospital and you develop an illness or infection within a certain window, then you're readmitted to the hospital. That's still adding to the HAI rate. And so their HAI rate was significantly dropped, length of stay was dropped, their healthcare economics improved dramatically ⁓ in both settings with completely different

patient and resident groups. And so we're honored that the technology is really impacting along a continuum of care, all beginning with the human embryo and now protecting seniors in senior living.

Natalie Tysdal (23:38)

Wow, that's it's fascinating. And I'm just so appreciative of the education that you're giving. Like you're not here to sell something. You're not you're not here to say you have to have a certain thing, but really helping people understand why it matters what it is. And that that's why I was so drawn to the topic is I know even from things like from mold and other things. I mean, it's helping with that as well. Right. And we hear a lot of those issues.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (24:04)

absolutely.

No, mold is actually difficult to kill. And you don't want to capture it. I mean, that's why typical filtration just captures it. But then it continues to exist above your space. And mold can produce fungal VOCs, or fungal chemical pathogens. So if it's sitting, living on your filter, it's still contributing in a negative way to your environment. So it's best to completely kill the mold. ⁓

Natalie Tysdal (24:09)

Mm-hmm.

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (24:33)

But no, we have ongoing studies with Duke and Lehigh universities. ⁓ Really, we know now how to remediate everything to a point near below detection. We know the differences that it's making on health and wellness. And now we're taking it to a much deeper level in exactly how is it impacting the human embryo at the cellular level? How is it impacting each of us? ⁓

fascinating. It really is.

Natalie Tysdal (25:04)

Yeah. Well, I thank you for your time helping us understand. ⁓ And I'll put a link to your website, anyone who wants to more about your company. ⁓

Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D. (25:13)

that'd be wonderful. We'd be happy to talk

with you. We love these conversations. Thank you very much.

Natalie Tysdal (25:19)

Yeah, well, it's great to meet you and thank you again.