Household Air Pollution Risk on Respiratory Health among Women: A Case Study of Indian District after Clean Fuel Programme

Objectives: Some of the highest exposures to air pollutants in developing countries occur inside homes where biomass fuels are used for daily cooking. Inhalation of these pollutants may cause deleterious effects on health. Study Design: A total of 450 non-smoking, non-pregnant women aged 15 years and above exposed to domestic smoke from cooking fuels from an early age, working in poorly ventilated kitchen were selected and on investigation presented various health problems. Method: Symptoms were enquired by means of using standard questionnaire adopted from that of the American Thoracic Society (ATS, 1995). Lung function was assessed by the measurement of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), (FEV1), i.e. volume of air (in liter) that is forcefully exhaled in one second. Using ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEVI/FVC), expressed as percentage. Results: FVC less than 80% of the predicted was considered as abnormal pulmonary function. Symptoms like chest pain, breathlessness, eye irritation, and blackout were found to be significantly higher in biomass users (P <0.05). Moreover, an increasing trend in the prevalence of symptoms/morbid conditions was observed with increase in exposure. Conclusion Thus women exposed to biomass fuels smoke suffer more from health problems and are at greater risk of respiratory illnesses when compared with other fuel users.