Woodsmoke exposure and risk for obstructive airways disease among women.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate if exposure to firewood smoke and other indoor pollutants is a potential risk factor for obstructive airways disease (OAD) among women in Bogota in whom cigarette smoking and other known risk factors may not be the most frequent.


METHODS
We conducted a hospital-based case-control study to identify risk factors for OAD among women in Bogota. An interview was conducted using a modified questionnaire recommended by the American Thoracic Society for epidemiologic studies.


METHODS
We compared 104 OAD cases with 104 controls matched by hospital and frequency matched by age.


METHODS
The odds ratio (OR) was used as the basic statistic to evaluate risk. Multivariate analysis (MA) was conducted by the Mantel-Haenszel procedure and by logistic regression.


RESULTS
Univariate analysis showed that tobacco use (OR = 2.22; p < 0.01), wood use for cooking (OR = 3.43; p < 0.001), passive smoking (OR = 2.05; p = 0.01), and gasoline use for cooking (OR = 0.52; p = 0.02) were associated with OAD. Trends for years of tobacco use and years of wood cooking were present (p < 0.05). After MA, variables remained significant except gasoline use.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that among elderly women of low socioeconomic status in Bogota, woodsmoke exposure is associated with the development of OAD and may help explain around 50% of all OAD cases. The role of passive smoking remains to be clarified. This work may set the basis for interventional studies in similar settings.
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia.
R J
RJ
Dennis
D
D
Maldonado
S
S
Norman
E
E
Baena
G
G
Martinez
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003105:Colombia; D003296:Cooking; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005742:Gasoline / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D014934:Wood
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005742:Gasoline; D012906:Smoke; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution