Smoky indoor cooking fires are associated with elevated hemoglobin concentration in iron-deficient women Asocian el fuego con humo para cocinar dentro de la vivienda con concentraciones elevadas de hemoglobina en mujeres con deficiencia de hierro

• Main Authors: Lynnette M. Neufeld, Jere Douglas Haas, Marie T. Ruel, Rubén Grajeda, Luke P. Naeher
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2004
• Subjects: Hemoglobins; air pollution; indoor; anemia; iron deficiency; altitude; risk factors; Guatemala; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/e461090d0e224b1a8e350ec6ea55fedd

OBJECTIVE: Indoor air pollution from the burning of such biomass fuels as wood and agricultural waste is associated with a higher risk of a number of respiratory problems. The effect on other health outcomes, such as fetal growth, has not yet been adequately documented. The objective of this study was to determine whether, among women who burn biomass fuels for cooking indoors, the use of "smoky" fires is associated with elevated hemoglobin concentration in comparison to women using "smokeless" stoves, that is, stoves that are designed to reduce indoor air pollution. This research was conducted as part of a series of preliminary studies to determine the feasibility and potential health benefits of a randomized stove intervention to reduce indoor air pollution from the burning of biomass fuels for cooking. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in rural highland communities of Guatemala from March to August 1994. Venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for hemoglobin and ferritin. All the women studied burned biomass fuels and cooked indoors, and none of the women was pregnant. Eighty-nine indigenous women using smokeless stoves (designated as the not-exposed group) and 185 indigenous women from the same communities using smoky fires (the exposed group) were studied. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between exposure (smokeless stove or smoky fire) and hemoglobin concentration, with adjusting for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: No effect of exposure (smokeless stove or smoky fire) on hemoglobin concentration was found in univariate or multivariate analyses. In routine post hoc analysis to determine whether hemoglobin elevation is observed in some particular subgroup, we found that the use of a smoky fire was associated with a 5.2 g/L elevation in hemoglobin concentration among women with low ferritin stores (P <0.10). CONCLUSIONS: The elevation of hemoglobin concentration through exposure to indoor air pollution resulting from ...