School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Indoor Air. 2011 Feb;21(1):25-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00679.x. Epub 2010 Sep 15.
This article presents the results of a study on the association between measured air pollutants and the respiratory health of resident women and children in Lao PDR, one of the least developed countries in Southeast Asia. The study, commissioned by the World Health Organisation, included PM(10), CO and NO(2) measurements made inside 181 dwellings in nine districts within two provinces in Lao PDR over a 5-month period (12/05-04/06), and respiratory health information (via questionnaires and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) measurements) for all residents in the same dwellings. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated separately for each health outcome using binary logistic regression. There was a strong and consistent positive association between NO(2) and CO for almost all questionnaire-based health outcomes for both women and children. Women in dwellings with higher measured NO(2) had more than triple of the odds of almost all of the health outcomes, and higher concentrations of NO(2) and CO were significantly associated with lower PEFR. This study supports a growing literature confirming the role of indoor air pollution in the burden of respiratory disease in developing countries. The results will directly support changes in health and housing policy in Lao PDR.
This is the first study that investigated indoor air quality and its impact within residential dwellings in Lao PDR, which is one of the poorest and least developed countries in south-east Asia, with a life-expectancy of 56 years in 2008. While there have been other studies published on indoor air quality in other developing countries, the situation in Laos is different because the majority of houses in Laos used wood stoves, and therefore, emissions from wood burning are the dominant sources of indoor air pollution. In other countries, and studies, while emission from wood burning was investigated, wood was rarely the main or the only fuel used, as the houses used in addition (or solely) dung, kerosene or coal. The study quantified, for the first time, concentrations in houses two provinces in Laos PDR and shed light on the impact of human activities and urban design on pollutant concentrations and respiratory health. This study contributes to the accumulation of evidence to provide more reliable estimates of risk and a more informed basis for decision-making by concerned governments and communities.
本研究旨在探讨东南亚欠发达国家老挝的居民妇女和儿童的呼吸道健康与空气中污染物测量值之间的关系。该研究由世界卫生组织委托进行，在老挝的两个省的 9 个区的 181 所住宅内进行了为期 5 个月（2005 年 12 月至 2006 年 4 月）的 PM(10)、CO 和 NO(2)测量，同时还对同一住宅内所有居民进行了呼吸道健康信息（通过问卷调查和呼气峰值流速（PEFR）测量）收集。使用二元逻辑回归分别为每个健康结果计算了调整后的比值比。对于妇女和儿童的几乎所有基于问卷的健康结果，NO(2)和 CO 之间都存在强烈而一致的正相关关系。居住在测量值较高的 NO(2)的住宅中的妇女几乎所有健康结果的患病几率是其三倍以上，并且较高浓度的 NO(2)和 CO 与较低的 PEFR 显著相关。这项研究支持越来越多的文献证实了室内空气污染在发展中国家呼吸道疾病负担中的作用。研究结果将直接支持老挝在卫生和住房政策方面的改变。
这是第一项在东南亚最贫穷和最不发达国家之一的老挝的居民住宅内调查室内空气质量及其影响的研究，老挝的预期寿命在 2008 年仅为 56 岁。虽然已经有其他关于发展中国家室内空气质量的研究发表，但老挝的情况有所不同，因为老挝的大多数房屋都使用柴火炉，因此，木材燃烧产生的排放物是室内空气污染的主要来源。在其他国家和研究中，虽然调查了木材燃烧产生的排放物，但在这些国家和研究中，木材很少是主要或唯一使用的燃料，因为房屋还使用了（或仅使用了）粪便、煤油或煤炭。这项研究首次量化了老挝两个省的房屋内的浓度，并揭示了人类活动和城市设计对污染物浓度和呼吸道健康的影响。这项研究为积累证据做出了贡献，为有关政府和社区提供了更可靠的风险估计和更明智的决策基础。
