Pulmonary Function and Influencing Factor Investigation for Rural Homemakers in the Fenwei Plain, China

To understand the pulmonary function and main influencing factors of homemakers in rural Xi'an, a representative city in Northwest China, 72 housewives (61 ± 9 years old) were randomly selected from the rural area of Lantian, Xi'an. The questionnaire survey and pulmonary function test were performed on the subjects in winter and summer, respectively. The general linear model and variance analysis were used to analyze the influencing factors of pulmonary function. Key lung function indices included Vital Capacity (VC: 2.06 ± 0.48 L), Forced Expiratory Volume in First Second (FEV1: 1.91 ± 0.52 L), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC: 2.23 ± 0.59 L), and the FEV1/FVC ratio (0.86 ± 0.07). Several factors were found to cause impairment of pulmonary function. Age has the greatest effect on various indicators of lung function (Eta: 22.3%); the effect of indoor ventilation, season, and second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure on pulmonary function was comparable (3.2-5.9%). There were significant differences on most pulmonary function indices between four age groups (p = 0.000-0.005), and the age of <57 years old displayed the highest lung function index values. The lung function of the ventilation group was better than that of the non-ventilation group. And the lung function of the non-SHS exposure group was better than that of the SHS exposure group. No clear seasonal pattern of pulmonary function was found in this study. Aging, SHS exposure, and poor ventilation showed negative effects on most pulmonary function indices. It is recommended to actively publicize the harm of smoking and strengthen house ventilation to improve lung function in local homemakers.