Abstract
People of developing countries especially from rural area are commonly exposed to high levels of household pollution for 3–7 h daily using biomass in their kitchen. Such biomass produces harmful smoke and makes indoor air pollution (IAP). Community-based cross-sectional study was performed to identify effects of IAP by simplified measurement approach in Sunsari District of Nepal. Representative samples of 157 housewives from household, involving more than 5 years in kitchen were included by cluster sampling. Data were analyzed by SPSS and logistic regression was applied for the statistical test. Most (87.3%) housewives used biomass as a cooking fuel. Tearing of eyes, difficulty in breathing, and productive cough were the main reported health problems and traditional mud stoves and use of unrefined biomass were statistically significant (p < 0.05) and more risk (AOR > 2) with health problems related to IAP. The treatment cost and episodes of acute respiratory infection was >2 folders higher in severe IAP than mild IAP. Simplified measurement approach could be helpful to measure IAP in rural area. Some effective intervention is suggested to reduce the severe level of IAP considering women and children.
Highlights
Indoor air pollution (IAP) can be traced to prehistoric times when humans first moved to temperate climates and it became necessary to construct shelters and use fire inside them for cooking, warmth, and light
Bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed to show the association between some variables with the health problems
So in developing countries, most of the population is in rural area, they are suffering from IAP directly or indirectly especially women and children
Summary
Indoor air pollution (IAP) can be traced to prehistoric times when humans first moved to temperate climates and it became necessary to construct shelters and use fire inside them for cooking, warmth, and light. Fire led to exposure to high levels of pollution, as evidenced by the soot found in prehistoric caves [1]. People in developing countries are commonly exposed to high levels of pollution for 3–7 h daily over many years [3]. During winter in cold and mountainous areas, exposure may occur over a substantial portion of each 24-h period [4]. Because of their customary involvement in cooking, especially women’s exposure is much higher than men’s [5]. Young children are often carried on their mothers’ backs while cooking is in progress and spend many hours breathing smoke [1]
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