Re: Discussion: Wood smoke COPD: a new description of a COPD phenotype?
But the woodsmoke associated respiratory issues are not new and are well documented;
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2008 Sep;12(9):1092-8.
Wood smoke-associated lung disease: a clinical, functional, radiological and pathological description.
Moran-Mendoza O1, P?rez-Padilla JR, Salazar-Flores M, Vazquez-Alfaro F.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Approximately half of the world's population, and up to 90% of households in rural areas of developing countries, depend on biomass for cooking and heating.
SETTING:
The National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, M?xico City.
OBJECTIVE:
To describe wood smoke-associated lung disease (WSLD).
DESIGN:
Description of the clinical, functional and radiological manifestations of patients with WSLD, and a comparison of pathological findings of patients who died of WSLD and smokers who died of chronic bronchitis.
RESULTS:
All patients with WSLD were non-smoking women with chronic bronchitis, in whom asthma, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, congestive heart failure, extreme obesity and alfa-1 antitrypsin deficiency had been excluded. All patients used wood for cooking and had been exposed to wood smoke for a median of 45 years. Dyspnoea, airway obstruction, air trapping, increased airway resistance, pathological evidence of anthracosis, chronic bronchitis, centrilobular emphysema and pulmonary hypertension were present in most patients with WSLD. Bronchial squamous metaplasia was a common finding. There were no significant differences in the histopathological findings between patients with WSLD and smokers. Diffuse interstitial fibrosis was absent in all patients.
CONCLUSIONS:
Patients with WSLD have obstructive lung disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and pulmonary hypertension comparable to smokers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18713510
HEALTH EFFECTS OF BREATHING WOODSMOKE
Summary: Numerous scientific studies report potentially serious adverse health effects
from breathing smoke emitted by residential wood combustion. Smoke contains fine
particles, which can affect both the lungs and the heart. Residential wood smoke may be
a significant source of exposure to fine particle pollution.
...
The following conclusions are from a review article by Judith T. Zelikoff5
that
examines many of the health effects studies published in the last 25 years. The article
appeared in the Journal of Toxicology & Environmental Health in 2002:
With regard to adults, studies show that prolonged inhalation of
wood smoke contributed to chronic bronchitis (Rajpandey6
, 1984),
chronic interstitial lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension and cor
pulmonale (Sandoval7
et al., 1993), and altered pulmonary immune
defense mechanisms (Demarest8
et al., 1979; Ramage9
et al., 1988).
While adverse effects on adults are notable, children appear to be at
greatest risk. Many studies that focused specifically on RWC have
concluded that young children living in homes heated by a wood-burning
stove had a greater occurrence of moderate and severe chronic respiratory
symptoms than children of the same age and sex who did not live in
homes heated with a wood burning stove. E
xposure of preschool children
living in homes heated with wood burning stoves or in houses with open
fireplaces yielded these effects: decreased pulmonary lung function in
young asthmatics (Koenig10 et al., 1993); increased incidence of acute
bronchitis and severity/frequency of wheezing and coughing (Butterfield11
et al., 1989); and increased incidence, duration, and possibly severity of
acute respiratory infections (Honicky12 13 et al., 1983, 1985; Rajpandey,
1984; Morris14 et al., 1990; Collings15 et al., 1990; Honicky and
Osborne16, 1991; Kammen17 et al., 1998).
...
http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/pdfs/woodsmoke_health_effects_jan07.pdf
American Lung Association Says Wood Smoke Pollution Hazardous to Health
As cooler temperatures begin to mark the beginning of fall, the American Lung Association of
California is urging the public to avoid wood burning and to consider cleaner burning
alternatives. Burning wood emits harmful toxins and fine particles in the air that can worsen
breathing problems and lead to heart and lung disease and even early death.
?Breathing particle pollution ? or soot ? can literally shorten life and send our most vulnerable
residents to the emergency room. Study after study shows that when particle pollution levels
increase, people can die,? said David Pepper, MD, a volunteer of the American Lung Association
in California.
...
http://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1677
etc.
