Short term exposure to cooking fumes and pulmonary function.
BACKGROUND
Exposure to cooking fumes may have different deleterious effects on the respiratory system. The aim of this study was to look at possible effects from inhalation of cooking fumes on pulmonary function.


METHODS
Two groups of 12 healthy volunteers (A and B) stayed in a model kitchen for two and four hours respectively, and were monitored with spirometry four times during twenty four hours, on one occasion without any exposure, and on another with exposure to controlled levels of cooking fumes.


RESULTS
The change in spirometric values during the day with exposure to cooking fumes, were not statistically significantly different from the changes during the day without exposure, with the exception of forced expiratory time (FET). The change in FET from entering the kitchen until six hours later, was significantly prolonged between the exposed and the unexposed day with a 15.7% increase on the exposed day, compared to a 3.2% decrease during the unexposed day (p-value = 0.03). The same tendency could be seen for FET measurements done immediately after the exposure and on the next morning, but this was not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
In our experimental setting, there seems to be minor short term spirometric effects, mainly affecting FET, from short term exposure to cooking fumes.
Svedahl
Sindre
S
Department of Occupational Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. sindresv@stud.ntnu.no.
Svendsen
Kristin
K
Qvenild
Torgunn
T
Sjaastad
Ann Kristin
AK
Hilt
Bjørn
B