Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, P. O. Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, 1225 Center Drive, Room 4160, P. O. Box 100188, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Sep 12;22(1):1723. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14015-w.
Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is a leading cause of respiratory and cardiopulmonary illnesses. Particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) are critical indicators of IAQ, yet there is limited evidence of their concentrations in informal urban settlements in low-income countries.
This study assessed household characteristics that predict the concentrations of PM and CO within households in an informal settlement in Fort Portal City, Uganda.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 374 households. Concentrations of PM and CO were measured using a multi-purpose laser particle detector and a carbon monoxide IAQ meter, respectively. Data on household characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire and an observational checklist. Data were analysed using STATA version 14.0. Linear regression was used to establish the relationship between PM CO concentrations and household cooking characteristics.
The majority (89%, 332/374) of the households used charcoal for cooking. More than half (52%, 194/374) cooked outdoors. Cooking areas had significantly higher PM and CO concentrations (t = 18.14, p ≤ 0.05) and (t = 5.77 p ≤ 0.05), respectively. Cooking outdoors was associated with a 0.112 increase in the PM concentrations in the cooking area (0.112 [95% CI: -0.069, 1.614; p = 0.033]). Cooking with moderately polluting fuel was associated with a 0.718 increase in CO concentrations (0.718 [95% CI: 0.084, 1.352; p = 0.027]) in the living area.
The cooking and the living areas had high concentrations of PM and CO during the cooking time. Cooking with charcoal resulted in higher CO in the living area. Furthermore, cooking outdoors did not have a protective effect against PM, and ambient PM exceeded the WHO Air quality limits. Interventions to improve the indoor air quality in informal settlements should promote a switch to cleaner cooking energy and improvement in the ambient air quality.
室内空气质量差是导致呼吸道和心肺疾病的主要原因。颗粒物 (PM) 和一氧化碳 (CO) 是室内空气质量的关键指标，但在低收入国家的非正规城市住区，它们的浓度数据有限。
本研究旨在评估家庭特征对乌干达福图尔市非正规住区家庭内 PM 和 CO 浓度的预测作用。
本横断面研究共纳入 374 户家庭。使用多用途激光粒子探测器和一氧化碳室内空气质量计分别测量 PM 和 CO 浓度。使用结构化问卷和观察清单收集家庭特征数据。使用 STATA 版本 14.0 分析数据。线性回归用于确定 PM 和 CO 浓度与家庭烹饪特征之间的关系。
大多数家庭（89%，332/374）使用木炭烹饪。超过一半的家庭（52%，194/374）在户外烹饪。烹饪区域的 PM 和 CO 浓度显著更高（t=18.14，p≤0.05）和（t=5.77，p≤0.05）。户外烹饪与烹饪区域 PM 浓度增加 0.112 相关（0.112 [95%CI：-0.069，1.614；p=0.033]）。使用中度污染燃料烹饪与 CO 浓度增加 0.718 相关（0.718 [95%CI：0.084，1.352；p=0.027]）。
在烹饪期间，烹饪区和生活区的 PM 和 CO 浓度较高。使用木炭烹饪会导致生活区 CO 浓度升高。此外，户外烹饪并没有对 PM 起到保护作用，环境 PM 超过世界卫生组织空气质量限值。改善非正规住区室内空气质量的干预措施应促进向更清洁的烹饪能源转变，并改善环境空气质量。
