Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 1996 Sep;104(9):980–985. doi: 10.1289/ehp.104-1469451

Cooking fuel smoke and respiratory symptoms among women in low-income areas in Maputo.

A Ellegård 1
PMCID: PMC1469451  PMID: 8899378

Abstract

The association between exposure to air pollution from cooking fuels and health aspects was studied in Maputo. Mozambique. Almost 1200 randomly selected women residing in the suburbs of Maputo were interviewed and 218 were monitored for air pollution. The fuels most commonly used were wood, charcoal, electricity, and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Wood users were exposed to significantly higher levels of particulate pollution during cooking time (1200 micrograms/m3) than charcoal users (540 micrograms/m3) and users of modern fuels (LPG and electricity) (200-380 micrograms/m3). Wood users were found to have significantly more cough symptoms than other groups. This association remained significant when controlling for a large number of environmental variables. There was no difference in cough symptoms between charcoal users and users of modern fuels. Other respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, wheezing, and inhalation and exhalation difficulties were not associated with wood use. Reducing wood use would likely improve acute respiratory health effects in wood users and possibly improve the ambient air pollution conditions in Maputo. To reduce the health impact of wood smoke exposure, it appears that the least costly and quickest method would be to encourage charcoal use to a greater extent, although high carbon monoxide levels would have to be addressed. Turning to modern fuels is beyond the means of most these households in the short term and could not be shown to be more effective.

Full text

PDF
980

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cleary G. J., Blackburn R. B. Air pollution in native huts in the highlands of New Guinea. Arch Environ Health. 1968 Nov;17(5):785–794. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1968.10665320. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Clifford P. Carcinogens in the nose and throat: nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Kenya. Proc R Soc Med. 1972 Aug;65(8):682–686. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Dockery D. W., Pope C. A., 3rd Acute respiratory effects of particulate air pollution. Annu Rev Public Health. 1994;15:107–132. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.15.050194.000543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Folinsbee L. J. Human health effects of air pollution. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Apr;100:45–56. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9310045. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Indoor air pollution and acute respiratory infections in children. Lancet. 1992 Feb 15;339(8790):396–398. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Padmavati S., Arora R. Sex differences in chronic cor pulmonale in delhi. Br J Dis Chest. 1976 Oct;70(4):251–259. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(76)90040-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Pandey M. R. Domestic smoke pollution and chronic bronchitis in a rural community of the Hill Region of Nepal. Thorax. 1984 May;39(5):337–339. doi: 10.1136/thx.39.5.337. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Pope C. A., 3rd, Dockery D. W. Acute health effects of PM10 pollution on symptomatic and asymptomatic children. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1992 May;145(5):1123–1128. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm/145.5.1123. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Viegi G., Carrozzi L., Paoletti P., Vellutini M., DiViggiano E., Baldacci S., Modena P., Pedreschi M., Mammini U., di Pede C. Effects of the home environment on respiratory symptoms of a general population sample in middle Italy. Arch Environ Health. 1992 Jan-Feb;47(1):64–70. doi: 10.1080/00039896.1992.9935946. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES