School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia 6009.
Thorax. 2012 Apr;67(4):315-20. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-200236. Epub 2012 Jan 16.
Unflued gas heaters (UFGHs) and cookers are a major contributor to air pollution in homes. Gas appliances have been associated with adverse respiratory outcomes in children and, less consistently, adults. There have been very few studies on the effects of gas appliances on the respiratory health of older people.
This study investigated the daily lung function and respiratory symptoms of older people (>55 years of age) who did and did not use an UFGH as a primary source of heating.
71 patients with asthma were recruited for the study. Each patient participated for one 12-week winter period. All patients recorded daytime and night-time symptoms in a diary and completed morning and evening peak flow and forced expiratory volume in 1 s for the study period. General estimating equations were used to measure the associations between symptoms and lung function outcomes and same and previous day (lag 1) UFGH exposure.
Same and previous day (lag 1) UFGH exposure was associated with significantly increased ORs for wheeze and dyspnoea compared with days on which no heating was used. Furthermore, there were significant increases in the average odds of reported wheeze and dyspnoea per hour of UFGH heater use. Small but significant reductions in morning to evening peak flow and forced expiratory volume in 1 s were observed on the days an UFGH was used compared with days when other heating was used or there was no heating.
Exposure to UFGHs may have a detrimental effect on symptoms and lung function in older people with mild to moderate asthma.
无排烟道燃气热水器和炊具是家庭空气污染的主要来源。燃气器具已被证明与儿童的不良呼吸后果有关，而与成年人的关联则不那么一致。关于燃气器具对老年人呼吸健康的影响，研究甚少。
本研究调查了不使用无排烟道燃气热水器作为主要取暖源的老年（>55 岁）人群的日常肺功能和呼吸道症状。
本研究共招募了 71 名哮喘患者。每位患者在一个为期 12 周的冬季期间参与研究。所有患者在日记中记录白天和夜间症状，并在研究期间完成早晨和傍晚的峰值流量和 1 秒用力呼气量。使用一般估计方程来衡量症状和肺功能结果与当天和前一天（滞后 1 天）无排烟道燃气热水器暴露之间的关联。
与不使用取暖设备的日子相比，当天和前一天（滞后 1 天）使用无排烟道燃气热水器与喘息和呼吸困难的发生风险显著增加相关。此外，使用无排烟道燃气热水器每小时会显著增加报告喘息和呼吸困难的平均几率。与使用其他取暖设备或不使用取暖设备的日子相比，使用无排烟道燃气热水器的日子，早晨到傍晚的峰值流量和 1 秒用力呼气量均有小但显著的降低。
暴露于无排烟道燃气热水器可能对有轻中度哮喘的老年人的症状和肺功能产生不利影响。
