Indoor air pollution and respiratory illnesses in exposed children

ABSTRACT

To find out the common indoor air pollutant present in study population and their relation with respiratory ailments in children exposed to these pollutants. It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at outpatient clinic and ward of Pediatric department. Abbasi Shaheed Hospital Karachi, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital is a tertiary care teaching hospital, associated with Karachi Medical and Dental College. The study was conducted during January 2010 to June 2010. It was convenient sampling [Non-probability]. The sample size of children aged between 2 months to 12 years was calculated according to an expected prevalence, a precision of 3% and an error risk of 500. The sample and target population size allowed a correction factor leading to a sample size of 100 children. The children with respiratory illness of specified age group were included, a verbal consent was taken from parents and a questionnaire was filled by the trainee doctors and final year medical students. Data was entered in SPSS-14 and analyzed by means of graphs, charts and frequency tables. The average age of the children was 34.8 months and 66% were less than 5 years of age. No of episodes of respiratory illnesses in children was 2.16 per year, while the average no. of admissions was 0.73 per year. The average family size was 9 and parity was 4. The average no of persons sharing a bed room was 4. Male to female ratio was 11.04. ln study group 16% had open kitchen while 10% did their cooking inside bed rooms. 39% used wood or coal and 14% used biomass. 36% houses were poorly ventilated and 8% had dampness in the house. Smoking in family was present in 55% use of talcum powder was positive in 71% cases and mosquito repellent was used in 85% of cases. The practice of cooking, cleaning and smoking were found to be important factors contributing to indoor air pollution and thus causing increased risk of respiratory illness in exposed population. As the children between 2 months to 5 years and mothers spent most of their time inside home, they were exposed more to indoor pollutant and thus had increased prevalence of respiratory illnesses. By awareness campaign and corrective measures we can reduce the risk of indoor air pollutants associated respiratory diseases