A case-control study on the effect of exposure to different substances on the development of COPD.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exposure to different substances on the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


METHODS
The case group consisted of 74 housewives. These were female patients who never smoked who had a diagnosis of COPD and were seen at the Cumhuriyet University Hospital in Sivas, Turkey, between January 1, 2001, and March 31, 2002. The control group consisted of 74 housewives; this group consisted of healthy women who never smoked who came to the hospital as visitors and who did not have the diagnosis of COPD. The control group was chosen by group matching of the age distribution of the women in the case group and the regions and the neighborhoods where they lived. All of the women in the case and control groups were evaluated with a questionnaire for exposure to wood ashes, biomass, and cigarette smoke in closed areas.


RESULTS
No difference was found in the groups for exposure to wood ashes (p > 0.05). Logistic regression analysis resulted in the following odds ratio of COPD estimate for women with > or = 30 years biomass exposure, 6.61 (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 2.17-20.18); for women with > or = 30 years cigarette smoke exposure, 4.96 (95% CI: 1.65-14.86).


CONCLUSIONS
A statistically significant correlation was found between the effect of > or = 30 years of exposure to biomass and cigarette smoke exposure and the development of COPD.
Biostatistics Department, Cumhuriyet University Medical Faculty, Sivas, Turkey.
Hafize
H
Sezer
Ibrahim
I
Akkurt
Nuran
N
Guler
Kamile
K
Marakoğlu
Serdar
S
Berk
D000368:Aged; D018533:Biomass; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D031661:Fraxinus / Q000633:toxicity; D006796:Household Work; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D014421:Turkey; D016387:Women's Health; D014934:Wood
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution