Woodsmoke exposure and risk for obstructive airways disease among women

To investigate if exposure to firewood smoke and other indoor pollutants is a potential risk factor for obstructive airways disease (OAD) among women in Bogota in whom cigarette smoking and other known risk factors may not be the most frequent.

We conducted a hospital-based case-control study to identify risk factors for OAD among women in Bogota. An interview was conducted using a modified questionnaire recommended by the American Thoracic Society for epidemiologic studies.

We compared 104 OAD cases with 104 controls matched by hospital and frequency matched by age.

The odds ratio (OR) was used as the basic statistic to evaluate risk. Multivariate analysis (MA) was conducted by the Mantel-Haenszel procedure and by logistic regression.

Univariate analysis showed that tobacco use (OR = 2.22; p < 0.01), wood use for cooking (OR = 3.43; p < 0.001), passive smoking (OR = 2.05; p = 0.01), and gasoline use for cooking (OR = 0.52; p = 0.02) were associated with OAD. Trends for years of tobacco use and years of wood cooking were present (p < 0.05). After MA, variables remained significant except gasoline use.

This study showed that among elderly women of low socioeconomic status in Bogota, woodsmoke exposure is associated with the development of OAD and may help explain around 50% of all OAD cases. The role of passive smoking remains to be clarified. This work may set the basis for interventional studies in similar settings.