ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE 2011;2(5):WMC001938
Lung Function Among Improved and Traditional Cooking Stove Users
Link to full-text and author emails
Dr. Sunil Kumar Joshi , Mr. Ashish Singh , Mr. Bhushan Tuladhar
Corresponding Author: Mr. Ashish Singh, Environment and Public Health Organization, – Nepal
Introduction: Indoor air pollution is a major cause of respiratory problems in developing countries. Cooking stoves in the kitchen could be an important factor. This study compares the effect of the traditional cooking stove and the improved cooking stove on the respiratory health of women.
Methods: A comparative evaluation was done among traditional cooking stove (TCS) users and improved cooking stove (ICS) users. Lung function parameters such as FEV1, FVS, PEF were measured using a portable spirometer. The findings were correlated with the type of cooking stove used.
Results: Among 123 participants, 67(54.5 %) were ICS users and 56 (45.5 %) were TCS users. The mean age of TCS users was 34.7 years and that of ICS users was 32.9 years. Eleven (19.5%) TCS users and seven (12.4%) ICS users had abnormal lung function. The mean FVC was 3.25±0.46 litres for ICS users and 3.24±0.51 liters for TCS users. Likewise, FEV1 was 2.69±0.36 litres for ICS users compared to 2.61±0.46 liters for TCS users. FEV1/FVC was 0.83±0.06 for ICS users compared to 0.80±0.06 for TCS users. Overall, there was no significant difference between the two groups.
Conclusions: There was no substantial difference in the lung function of ICS and TCS users.
