Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban 4031, South Africa.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Feb 14;16(4):550. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16040550.
In low-income communities, non-electric fuel sources are typically the main cause of Household Air Pollution (HAP). In Umlazi, a South African coastal, informal settlement, households use electric- and non-electric (coal, wood, gas, paraffin) energy sources for cooking and heating. The study aimed to determine whether respiratory ill health status varied by fuel type use. Using a questionnaire, respondents reported on a range of socio-demographic characteristics, dwelling type, energy use for cooking and heating as well as respiratory health symptoms. Multivariate Poisson regression was used to obtain the adjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) for the effects of electric and non-electric energy sources on prevalence of respiratory infections considering potential confounding factors. Among the 245 households that participated, Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI, = 27) were prevalent in respondents who used non-electric sources compared to electric sources for heating and cooking. There were statistically significant effects of non-electric sources for heating (adjusted OR = 3.6, 95% CI (confidence interval): 1.2⁻10.1, < 0.05) and cooking (adjusted OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.1⁻7.9, < 0.05) on prevalence of URTIs. There was a statistically significant effect of electric sources for heating (adjusted OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.1⁻6.4, < 0.05) on prevalence of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTIs) but no evidence for relations between non-electric sources for heating and LRTIs, and electric or non-electric fuel use type for cooking and LRTIs. Energy switching, mixing or stacking could be common in these households that likely made use of multiple energy sources during a typical month depending on access to and availability of electricity, funds to pay for the energy source as well as other socio-economic or cultural factors. The importance of behaviour and social determinants of health in relation to HAP is emphasized.
在低收入社区，非电燃料通常是造成家庭空气污染（HAP）的主要原因。在南非沿海的非正式住区乌姆拉齐，家庭做饭和取暖使用电和非电（煤、木材、天然气、石蜡）能源。本研究旨在确定呼吸健康状况是否因燃料类型的使用而有所不同。研究人员使用问卷收集了一系列社会人口特征、住所类型、烹饪和取暖用能源以及呼吸健康症状等信息。采用多变量泊松回归分析，考虑到潜在的混杂因素，得出电和非电能源对呼吸道感染流行率的调整后比值比（OR）。在参与的 245 户家庭中，与使用电作为烹饪和取暖能源的家庭相比，使用非电能源的家庭受访者中更普遍出现上呼吸道感染（URTI， = 27）。非电作为烹饪（调整后 OR = 2.9，95%置信区间（CI）：1.1⁻7.9， < 0.05）和取暖能源（调整后 OR = 3.6，95% CI：1.2⁻10.1， < 0.05）对上呼吸道感染的流行有统计学显著影响。电作为取暖能源（调整后 OR = 2.7，95% CI：1.1⁻6.4， < 0.05）对上呼吸道感染的流行有统计学显著影响，但非电作为取暖能源与下呼吸道感染之间、以及电或非电燃料用于烹饪与下呼吸道感染之间没有关系的证据。在这些家庭中，能源转换、混合或叠加可能很常见，因为它们可能根据电力供应和可用性、支付能源费用的资金以及其他社会经济或文化因素，在一个典型月份内使用多种能源。强调了行为和健康的社会决定因素在家庭空气污染方面的重要性。
