Indoor air pollution from cooking with biomass fuels is a major cause of chronic bronchitis among women in a rural district of Rwanda

In the developing world, households are using biomass fuel for cooking and heating this leads to high concentration of toxic pollutants indoor causing several respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the association between biomass fuels and chronic bronchitis among women leaving in a rural district of Rwanda. Methods: A prospective study was conducted for a period of 15 months between March 2015 and May 2016 and all patients willing to participate were recruited from test villages selected randomly in the district of Gisagara. Obtained data were compared with those from control villages from the distric Huye. 448 women aged 20 years and above were recruited for the study, among them 302 were using biomass fuel for cooking and there was a control group of 146 age-matched women who were using either liquefied gas petroleum or had not been cooking the last 3 years. Results: Out of 448 women recruited for the study, 12 (2.6%) were excluded for various reasons, among them 298 (68.3%) were usingbiomass fuel for cooking and 138 (31.7%) belonged to the control group. Using our case definition of chronic bronchitis the overall prevalence was 10.7% of all participants. Chronic bronchitis was significantly associated with cooking indoor (OR: 8.14; 95%, CI 3.45 to 16.84), age (OR: 2.32; 95% CI 1.93 to 3.59) and education level (OR: (OR: 1.66; 95% CI, 0.90 to 3.11). Conclusion: This study showed that cooking indoor with biomass fuel, age and the level of education are the main risk factors for chronic bronchitis.