A 45-year-old non-smoking woman from a rural village presents with chronic cough and progressive breathlessness. She has cooked on a traditional chulha using cow dung and firewood in a poorly ventilated kitchen for 25 years. The most important indoor air pollutant responsible for her condition is:

• A Formaldehyde from furniture adhesives
• B Carbon monoxide from kerosene lamps
• C Radon released from soil beneath the house
• D Suspended particulate matter from biomass combustion ✓

Explanation

Solid biomass fuels burned in open chulhas release very high concentrations of suspended particulate matter into poorly ventilated kitchens, and chronic exposure is strongly linked to chronic bronchitis and COPD in Indian rural women, along with cataract and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Carbon monoxide from biomass is present but particulates drive the respiratory disease. Radon causes lung cancer rather than obstructive airway disease, and formaldehyde is a problem of modern sealed buildings, not chulha kitchens.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.