Awareness of health effects of cooking smoke among women in the Gondar Region of Ethiopia: a pilot survey

Edelstein, Michael; Pitchforth, Emma; Asres, Getahun; Silverman, Michael; Kulkarni, Neeta

doi:10.1186/1472-698x-8-10

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Due to the small number of measurements conducted, conclusions presented here are perhaps anecdotal. Yet exposure campaigns, as a first step to addressing health hazards, can result in significant behavior change due to increased community awareness of the problem (Diaz et al 2008;Edelstein et al 2008;Madajewicz et al 2007).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Personal and indoor exposure to PM2.5 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the southern highlands of Tanzania: a pilot-scale study

Titcombe

Simcik

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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Personal and indoor exposure to PM(2.5) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in households in the Njombe district of Tanzania. Cooking is conducted indoors in this region due to its high elevation, cool climate, and heavy seasonal rainfall. Kitchens are often poorly ventilated, resulting in high exposures to combustion-related pollutants. Sampling sites were selected to represent typical cooking practices across regional socio-economic divisions. These include the use of open wood fires, charcoal, a mix of charcoal and kerosene, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking fuels. PM(2.5) average personal exposure was 14 μg/m(3) (±3, n = 3) for LPG, 88 μg/m(3) (±42, n = 3) for kerosene/charcoal mix, 588 μg/m(3) (±347, n = 3) for charcoal alone, and 1574 μg/m(3) (±287, n = 3) for open wood fires. Total PAH average personal exposures were less than 1 ng/m(3) (±1, n = 3) for LPG, 57 ng/m(3) (±16, n = 3) for kerosene/charcoal mix, 334 ng/m(3) (±57, n = 3) for charcoal alone, and 5040 ng/m(3) (±909, n = 3) for open wood fires. Benzo[a]pyrene equivalent exposures for US EPA's priority PAH pollutants were 0 for LPG, 8 ng/m(3) for kerosene/charcoal mix, 44 ng/m(3) for charcoal, and 767 ng/m(3) for open wood fire. Inhalable pollutants are present at unacceptably high levels, exceeding indoor air quality standards for all but LPG fuels. Relative results provide an exposure profile for rural East Africa and support the feasibility of conducting a larger scale smoke exposure campaign in the region. The use of "fuel efficient" wood stoves for the reduction of PM(2.5) and PAH exposure was measured in a local secondary school. Proper use of "fuel efficient" wood stoves reduced personal and indoor exposure to measured pollutants by more than 90%, supporting further investigation into the applicability of this technology to significantly improve indoor air quality.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Four households and one secondary school were selected. Choice of cooking fuel often correlates with a household's socio-economic status (Edelstein et al 2008;Smith 2002). Thus, on a small scale, these sites also represent the socioeconomic demographic within the region.…”

Section: Sampling Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal and indoor exposure to PM2.5 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the southern highlands of Tanzania: a pilot-scale study

Titcombe

Simcik

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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“…In addition the majority of respondents were aware and agreed that cooking with biomass fuel had a negative effect on their children's health ( Table 3). The studies by Edelstein et al [30] and Osagbemi et al [31] had also shown considerable awareness of ill health effects of biomass fuel use in their studied communities. It is of note that a considerable proportion placed wood as the best fuel along with natural gas and LPG.…”

Section: Awareness Of Health Impacts Of Cooking Fuelsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Ethno-Environmental Knowledge as A Tool to Combat Indoor Air Pollution in Low Income Countries: A Case Study from Rural Communities in Pakistan

Nasir

Colbeck

Bharucha

et al. 2014

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Abstract:It has recently been estimated that 4 million deaths each year are associated with air pollution originating from household solid fuel use. Interventions to reduce biomass fuel-related emissions can yield a diverse stream of benefits including improved public health, socio-economic development, reduced land degradation and climate change mitigation. This study investigates the use of indigenous knowledge to inform interventions to combat indoor air pollution at a rural site in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The results indicate that the majority of people using biomass fuel had knowledge of its ill health effects. A range of methods were utilised to reduce indoor smoke including cooking in open spaces, use of chimneys, better ventilation and use of dry fuel. Education and housing type showed a statistically significant relationship with awareness of methods to reduce indoor exposure to biomass smoke. These findings lend support to the notion that communities have indigenous knowledge and their own methods to reduce exposure to indoor smoke from biomass fuels; this knowledge can be used as tool to design and implement sustainable intervention strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to indoor air pollution. It is recommended that a community based intervention focusing on locally manufactured improved stoves and better designed cooking spaces would be a suitable intervention in this region.

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“…The burning of this form of energy results in the release of hundreds of toxic air pollutants that have been associated with an increased risk of developing respiratory illnesses c 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 40 : 1719-1731 [141][142][143]159]. With respect to prenatal exposure, biomass fuel use has been associated with low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction and preterm parturition [144,[160][161][162].…”

Section: Air Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neonatal immune function and inflammatory illnesses in later life: lessons to be learnt from the developing world?

Lisciandro

Biggelaar

2010

Clin Experimental Allergy

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With the emergence of allergic and autoimmune diseases in populations that have started to transit to a western lifestyle, there has been an increasing interest in the role of environmental factors modulating early immune function. Yet, most of the information concerning neonatal immune function has been derived from studies in westernized countries. We postulate that comparative studies of early immune development in children born under conditions that are typical for a westernized vs. that of a still more traditional setting will provide a crucial insight into the environmental-driven immunological mechanisms that are responsible for the world-wide rise in inflammatory disorders. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of early-life immune function in humans in general and the literature on some major lifestyle factors that may influence neonatal immune function and potentially the risk for disease in later life. An understanding of the mechanisms of 'prenatal/early-life programming' in populations living in traditional compared with modern societies is crucial to develop strategies to prevent a further rise in 'western diseases' such as allergic disorders. Indications exist that prenatal conditioning of the innate immune system by low-grade inflammatory responses is key to inducing more tightly regulated postnatal adaptive immune responses.

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Awareness of health effects of cooking smoke among women in the Gondar Region of Ethiopia: a pilot survey

Cited by 32 publications

References 9 publications

Personal and indoor exposure to PM2.5 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the southern highlands of Tanzania: a pilot-scale study

Personal and indoor exposure to PM2.5 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the southern highlands of Tanzania: a pilot-scale study

Ethno-Environmental Knowledge as A Tool to Combat Indoor Air Pollution in Low Income Countries: A Case Study from Rural Communities in Pakistan

Neonatal immune function and inflammatory illnesses in later life: lessons to be learnt from the developing world?

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