Owusu Charity, Ofori Albert, Adusei-Mensah Frank, Abraham Carl Halladay, Kyei Samuel, Quansah Reginald, Essumang David Kofi
Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Environ Health Insights. 2025 Jan 30;19:11786302251317056. doi: 10.1177/11786302251317056. eCollection 2025.
Biomass smoke exposure represents a critical health concern, especially for those in occupational settings such as fish smoking. While substantial research has addressed indoor air pollution from domestic cooking, the specific risks faced by fish smokers have received insufficient attention. This study sheds light on the alarming relationship between smoke exposure and health issues among commercial fish smokers in Abuesi, Ghana. Through a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis involving 302 participants, we utilized structured questionnaires and expert eye assessments to gather vital data. Our statistical evaluation, including descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and chi-square tests, revealed a troubling prevalence of respiratory symptoms such as cough, asthma, and breathlessness, all significantly linked to prolonged smoke exposure. Eye health findings were equally concerning, with distant vision impairment affecting 26.37%, eye discomfort reported at 53.02%, and notable rates of cataracts (28.6%) and refractive errors (17.9%). For those suffering from breathlessness, asthma, and pneumonia, the data indicated that longer exposure durations correlated with more severe health outcomes. Specifically, subjects without breathlessness had an average smoking duration of 14.84 years (SD = 12.29) compared to just 10.26 years (SD = 11.15) for those with the symptom-a statistically significant -value of .014. Asthma and pneumonia exhibited similar trends, highlighting a distressing reality: shorter smoking histories align with more severe health conditions, suggesting that such symptoms might drive smokers to abandon their practices prematurely. Given the serious health risks tied to traditional fish smoking practices, this study strongly advocates for the implementation of improved smoking technologies, better ventilation systems, and comprehensive health education initiatives. These measures are essential to safeguard the health of those involved in this vital industry and reduce exposure to hazardous smoke.
接触生物质烟雾是一个严重的健康问题，尤其对于那些从事如熏鱼等职业的人来说。虽然已有大量研究关注家庭烹饪产生的室内空气污染，但熏鱼者面临的具体风险却未得到足够重视。本研究揭示了加纳阿贝西商业熏鱼者接触烟雾与健康问题之间令人担忧的关系。通过对302名参与者进行全面的横断面分析，我们使用结构化问卷和专家眼部评估来收集重要数据。我们的统计评估，包括描述性统计、方差分析和卡方检验，揭示了咳嗽、哮喘和呼吸急促等呼吸道症状的令人不安的患病率，所有这些都与长期接触烟雾显著相关。眼部健康结果同样令人担忧，远距离视力受损的比例为26.37%，眼部不适报告率为53.02%，白内障（28.6%）和屈光不正（17.9%）的发生率也相当高。对于那些患有呼吸急促、哮喘和肺炎的人，数据表明接触时间越长，健康结果越严重。具体而言，没有呼吸急促症状的受试者平均吸烟时长为14.84年（标准差=12.29），而有该症状的受试者平均吸烟时长仅为10.26年（标准差=11.15）——统计学显著性p值为0.014。哮喘和肺炎呈现出类似趋势，凸显了一个令人痛心的现实：吸烟史越短，健康状况越严重，这表明这些症状可能会促使吸烟者过早放弃这一行为。鉴于传统熏鱼做法存在严重的健康风险，本研究强烈主张采用改进的熏制技术、更好的通风系统以及全面的健康教育举措。这些措施对于保护从事这一重要行业的人员的健康以及减少接触有害烟雾至关重要。
