Respiratory signs and symptoms of a rural subpopulation in India: What do they tell us?

Abstract

The study estimated the prevalence of chronic respiratory conditions among the cooks exposed to the burning of solid biomass cooking fuel. Questionnaire-based survey and lung function tests were administered to capture the self-reported respiratory health symptoms and lung health respectively. The estimated prevalence of chronic bronchitis was 3.14%, 4.84%, 7.09%, 10.91% for 26–35, 36–45, 46–55, 56–65 years age group respectively. Obstructive lung disease was observed in 5.4%, 4.6%, 7.1%, and 13.5% of respondents for age groups 26–35, 36–45, 46–55, 56–65 year respectively and 6% over all ages (p value < 0.05 for trend). Immediate actions are needed to reduce the pollution exposure of the rural populations by providing the clean cooking energy.

Keywords

• Biomass cooking
• COPD
• FEV1
• FVC
• Pulmonary function test