Study of The Pulmonary Function Test on Women, “The Domestic Biofuel (Wood) Users” in a Tribal Village of Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Air pollution is a widespread problem and its impact on the health of the human population is very high. This article provides an overview of the adverse effects of biofuel burning on women's health. The findings of this study were to determine the effect of the use of biofuel (mainly wood) in household works on lung function parameters of the exposed household workers (women). This study was conducted on 30 female subjects who use biofuel and collected the parameters height, weight, Body mass index (BMI), Saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2), Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was measured and was compared to the values of the different articles as reference values. Women, exposed to the biofuel smoke suffers from respiratory illness and have decreased PEFR values (l/min). To reduce pollutant exposures, we recommended the use of smokeless chullas as cleaner fuels such as kerosene, charcoal, remembering their poverty levels, as many studies show low pollution level from clean fuels. In the end, this study demonstrates the detrimental consequences of using biomass fuels, particularly wood, on the decline of pulmonary function.