Chronic pulmonary disease in rural women exposed to biomass fumes.
BACKGROUND
Biomass (organic) fuels cause indoor air pollution when used inside dwellings. We evaluated the frequencies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis (CB) among rural women using biomass fuels for heating and cooking and compared them to women living in urban areas where such fuels are not used.


METHODS
From electoral lists we randomly selected 242 women living in rural areas near Kayseri, Turkey and 102 women living in apartments in the city having central heating and cooking with fuels other than biomass ones. Using a translated version of the American Thoracic Society questionnaire, with additional questions from the British Medical Research Council questionnaire, trained interviewers conducted personal interviews. They also collected information on fuels used for cooking and heating. All study subjects underwent a physical examination and measurement of pulmonary function.


RESULTS
We found that rural women were younger than urban women (mean age [and standard deviation], 40.5 [14.1] yr v. 43.6 [11.9] yr). More urban than rural women were current (14.7% v. 4.5%, p < 0.001) or past (11.8% v. 1.2%, p < 0.001) smokers. CB was more prevalent among rural women than urban women (20.7% v. 10.8%, p < 0.03). Similarly, COPD was more prevalent in rural women (12.4% v. 3.9%, p < 0.05). Although the pulmonary function tests were within normal limits, FEV, values in rural women were found to be relatively low compared with those of urban women (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Rural women exposed to biomass fumes are more likely to suffer from CB and COPD than urban women even though the prevalence of smoking is higher among the latter group.
Kayseri Chest Diseases Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
Kemal
K
Kiraz
Levent
L
Kart
Ramazan
R
Demir
Sema
S
Oymak
Inci
I
Gulmez
Murat
M
Unalacak
Mustafa
M
Ozesmi
D000328:Adult; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018533:Biomass; D029481:Bronchitis, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000009:adverse effects; D006361:Heating / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012907:Smoking; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population
D005579:Fossil Fuels; D012906:Smoke