Mabeleng Kekeletso, Rathebe Phoka C, Masekameni Masilu Daniel
Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Developmental Studies, School of Social Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 22;10(17):e36628. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36628. eCollection 2024 Sep 15.
The domestic utilization of biomass fuel for purposes such as cooking, space heating, and water heating has been linked to a number of respiratory ailments, particularly when burned inefficiently. However, there is an existing knowledge gap on the impact of this practice on the health of Basotho. This study aims to explore the impact of biomass fuels use on the prevalence of respiratory illnesses among residents of two rural communities in Thaba-Tseka. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was adopted, using a structured questionnaire, to assess the correlation between biomass fuel use and the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and diseases. Data were collected from 326 randomly selected individuals aged 18 and above. The major source of fuel energy used was firewood (39.6 %), followed by paraffin (29.1 %) and animal dung (15.6 %). The most prevalent respiratory symptom reported was cough, among 27.6 % of participants (n = 326), followed by sneezing (n = 326, 23.0 %), and fever (n = 326, 17.5 %). The lowest prevalent respiratory disease was pneumonia (0.9 %) while lung cancer was not reported. The reporting of respiratory symptoms and diseases was most prevalent in January. A greater prevalence of cough was reported by participants with a higher level of education (r (5) = 1.746, p = 0.008). More male participants reported to have tuberculosis (7.8 %) compared to females (3 %) (r (1) = 3.809, p = 0.051). Asthma was noted to be more prevalent among high income earners (r (3) = 8.169, p = 0.043) and those reported to have an employment (r (1) = 4.277, p = 0.039). Surprisingly, there was no association between respiratory diseases and symptoms, and the type of domestic fuel used. In the rural communities of Thaba-Tseka, about 4 in 10 Basotho rural communities, relied on firewood for cooking, space heating and water heating. Respiratory symptoms and diseases were observed mostly in the month of January. Several factors, including education level, marital status, gender, and income level, were significantly associated with specific respiratory symptoms and diseases. Targeted public health interventions are urgently needed to mitigate respiratory symptoms and diseases in the rural communities of Lesotho. More focus should be directed to health behavioral change and provision of improved stoves for exposure reduction of biomass emissions.
生物质燃料在烹饪、空间取暖和烧水等方面的家庭使用与多种呼吸道疾病有关，尤其是在燃烧效率低下时。然而，关于这种做法对莱索托人健康的影响，目前存在知识空白。本研究旨在探讨生物质燃料使用对塔巴-采卡两个农村社区居民呼吸道疾病患病率的影响。采用定量横断面设计，使用结构化问卷来评估生物质燃料使用与呼吸道症状和疾病患病率之间的相关性。从326名随机选择的18岁及以上个体收集数据。使用的主要燃料能源来源是柴火（39.6%），其次是石蜡（29.1%）和动物粪便（15.6%）。报告的最常见呼吸道症状是咳嗽，27.6%的参与者（n = 326）出现咳嗽，其次是打喷嚏（n = 326，23.0%）和发烧（n = 326，17.5%）。最不常见的呼吸道疾病是肺炎（0.9%），未报告肺癌病例。呼吸道症状和疾病的报告在1月份最为普遍。受教育程度较高的参与者咳嗽患病率更高（r(5)=1.746，p = 0.008）。报告患有结核病的男性参与者（7.8%）多于女性（3%）（r(1)=3.809，p = 0.051）。哮喘在高收入者中更为普遍（r(3)=8.169，p = 0.043），在有工作的人群中也更为普遍（r(1)=4.277，p = 0.039）。令人惊讶的是，呼吸道疾病和症状与家庭使用的燃料类型之间没有关联。在塔巴-采卡的农村社区，约十分之四的莱索托农村社区依靠柴火进行烹饪、空间取暖和烧水。呼吸道症状和疾病大多在1月份观察到。包括教育程度、婚姻状况、性别和收入水平在内的几个因素与特定的呼吸道症状和疾病显著相关。迫切需要有针对性的公共卫生干预措施来减轻莱索托农村社区的呼吸道症状和疾病。应更多地关注健康行为改变以及提供改良炉灶以减少生物质排放的暴露。
