Exposure to cooking emissions in kitchens and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in women: a population-based case-control study in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Introduction: women exposed to smoke are three times more likely to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than women who cook with clean fuels. The present study aims to compare the level of exposure to particulate matter (PM_2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inside kitchens, between women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy women, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Methods: a pilot case-control study was conducted from January 7^th to 25^th, 2020, in 2 neighborhoods of Ouagadougou. Cases were women diagnosed with COPD and controls were women without COPD. The diagnosis of COPD was made on the basis of a standardized questionnaire administered and followed by a spirometry test. The sample comprised 9 cases and 9 controls. Exposure was assessed by using a multi-pollutant hand-held device, over a 24-hour period. Exposures of cases and controls were compared using the independent Student's t-test and in cases where the distribution was not normal, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used.

Results: the mean age was 59 ± 9.86 years in the cases group and 58.56 ± 7.45 years in the control group and there is no significant difference (p = 0.757). The mean concentrations of PM_2.5 measured in the 2 groups were above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended threshold of 15 µg/m³ for 24 h exposure. The mean PM_2.5 concentration was 127.10 µg/m³ in the cases and 16.23 µg/m³ in the control group (p= 0.133). Concentrations of CO and VOCs were also higher in the kitchens of the cases than in those of the controls. However, no differences were statistically significant.

Conclusion: although no statistically significant differences were observed, pollutant concentrations were higher in the kitchens of women with COPD. In addition, PM_2.5 levels measured in both groups exceeded WHO-recommended thresholds, underlining the need to reduce household exposure to pollutants. Further research is needed to better understand these impacts.