Owusu Boadi Kwasi, Kuitunen Markku
Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.
J Biosoc Sci. 2006 May;38(3):403-12. doi: 10.1017/S0021932005026635.
Indoor air pollution resulting from the combustion of solid fuels has been identified as a major health threat in the developing world. This study examines how the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and behavioural risk factors affect respiratory health infections in Accra, Ghana. About 65.3% of respondents use charcoal and 4.2% use unprocessed wood. A total of 241 (25.4%) respondents who cook had had respiratory health symptoms in the two weeks preceding the study. Household socioeconomic status and educational attainment of respondents were found to have a significant impact on respiratory health through their particular influence on the choice of cooking fuel. Households that use wood and charcoal have a high incidence of respiratory health symptoms. The poor are more affected by respiratory health problems due to their heavy dependence on solid fuels as compared with their wealthy counterparts. Households that cook in multiple purpose rooms are more affected by respiratory health problems than those that cook outdoors. There is a positive correlation between the presence of children in the kitchen during cooking and the incidence of respiratory health symptoms among children (r=0.31, p<0.0001). Poverty and lack of education and awareness are the major factors affecting the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and respiratory health in Accra.
固体燃料燃烧导致的室内空气污染已被认定为发展中世界的一项重大健康威胁。本研究考察了烹饪燃料的选择、烹饪地点及行为风险因素如何影响加纳阿克拉的呼吸道健康感染情况。约65.3%的受访者使用木炭，4.2%使用未经处理的木材。在研究前两周内，共有241名（25.4%）做饭的受访者出现过呼吸道健康症状。研究发现，受访者的家庭社会经济地位和教育程度通过对烹饪燃料选择的特定影响，对呼吸道健康产生重大影响。使用木材和木炭的家庭呼吸道健康症状发生率较高。与富裕家庭相比，贫困家庭因严重依赖固体燃料而更易受呼吸道健康问题影响。在多功能房间做饭的家庭比在户外做饭的家庭更易受呼吸道健康问题影响。做饭时厨房中有儿童与儿童呼吸道健康症状发生率之间存在正相关（r = 0.31，p < 0.0001）。贫困以及缺乏教育和意识是影响阿克拉烹饪燃料选择、烹饪地点及呼吸道健康的主要因素。
