Sri Lanka Pilot Study to Examine Respiratory Health Effects and Personal PM 2.5 Exposures from Cooking Indoors

Michael J. Phillips, Emily A. Smith, Paul L. Mosquin, Ryan Chartier, Sumal Nandasena, Katherine Bronstein, Myles F. Elledge, Vanessa Thornburg, Jonathan Thornburg and Linda M. Brown
Additional contact information
Michael J. Phillips: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Emily A. Smith: RTI International, 701 13th St NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005, USA
Paul L. Mosquin: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Ryan Chartier: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Sumal Nandasena: National Institute of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Kalutara 12000, Sri Lanka
Katherine Bronstein: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Myles F. Elledge: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Vanessa Thornburg: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Jonathan Thornburg: RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Linda M. Brown: RTI International, 6110 Executive Boulevard, Suite 902, Rockville, MD 20852, USA

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-11

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 (PM 2.5 ). 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 PM 2.5 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 PM 2.5 concentration (PR = 1.51; p = 0.014).

Keywords: asthma; biomass; cookstove; indoor air pollution; respiratory; Sri Lanka (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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