• Justino Regalado, Rogelio Pérez-Padilla, Raúl Sansores, José Ignacio Páramo Ramirez, Michael Brauer, Peter Paré, and Sverre Vedal.
• Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Mexico City, Mexico. jregalad@compuserve.com.mx
• Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 2006 Oct 15; 174 (8): 901-5.

BackgroundThe use of biomass as a cooking fuel is commonplace in developing countries and has been associated with chronic bronchitis and obstructive airway disease.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was done in the village of Solis, close to Mexico City. Lifelong nonsmoking women 38 yr of age or older (n=841) completed a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and illnesses and on cooking fuel use, and performed spirometry in their homes. Particulate matter concentration was measured with a nephelometer in the kitchen for 1 h, while the subject was cooking.ResultsThe peak indoor concentration of particulate matter (PM10, particles with a diameter of 10 microm or less) often exceeded 2 mg/m3. Compared with those cooking with gas, current use of a stove burning biomass fuel was associated with increased reporting of phlegm (27 vs. 9%) and reduced FEV1/FVC (79.9 vs. 82.8%). Levels of FEV1 were 81 ml lower and cough was more common (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-2.8) in women from homes with higher PM10 concentrations. All women found with moderate airflow obstruction (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage II and above) were cooking with biomass stoves.ConclusionWomen cooking with biomass fuels have increased respiratory symptoms and a slight average reduction in lung function compared with those cooking with gas.

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