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. 2016 Aug 5;13(8):791.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph13080791.

Sri Lanka Pilot Study to Examine Respiratory Health Effects and Personal PM2.5 Exposures from Cooking Indoors

Michael J Phillips  1 , Emily A Smith  2 , Paul L Mosquin  3 , Ryan Chartier  4 , Sumal Nandasena  5 , Katherine Bronstein  6 , Myles F Elledge  7 , Vanessa Thornburg  8 , Jonathan Thornburg  9 , Linda M Brown  10
Affiliations

Sri Lanka Pilot Study to Examine Respiratory Health Effects and Personal PM2.5 Exposures from Cooking Indoors

Michael J Phillips et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

A pilot study of indoor air pollution produced by biomass cookstoves was conducted in 53 homes in Sri Lanka to assess respiratory conditions associated with stove type ("Anagi" or "Traditional"), kitchen characteristics (e.g., presence of a chimney in the home, indoor cooking area), and concentrations of personal and indoor particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5). Each primary cook reported respiratory conditions for herself (cough, phlegm, wheeze, or asthma) and for children (wheeze or asthma) living in her household. For cooks, the presence of at least one respiratory condition was significantly associated with 48-h log-transformed mean personal PM2.5 concentration (PR = 1.35; p < 0.001). The prevalence ratio (PR) was significantly elevated for cooks with one or more respiratory conditions if they cooked without a chimney (PR = 1.51, p = 0.025) and non-significantly elevated if they cooked in a separate but poorly ventilated building (PR = 1.51, p = 0.093). The PRs were significantly elevated for children with wheeze or asthma if a traditional stove was used (PR = 2.08, p = 0.014) or if the cooking area was not partitioned from the rest of the home (PR = 2.46, p = 0.012). For the 13 children for whom the cooking area was not partitioned from the rest of the home, having a respiratory condition was significantly associated with log-transformed indoor PM2.5 concentration (PR = 1.51; p = 0.014).

Keywords: Sri Lanka; asthma; biomass; cookstove; indoor air pollution; respiratory.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fitted log-binomial-model probability of any respiratory condition for the primary cook, on 48-h mean personal PM2.5 concentration, controlled for age. Plotted points are respiratory condition (0 = none, 1 = any of four).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fitted log-binomial model probability of child having at least one respiratory condition, among 13 children living in homes with kitchens that were not partitioned from the rest of the home. Plotted points are respiratory condition (0 = none, 1 = either of two).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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