A 45-year-old woman from a rural village presents with progressive breathlessness and chronic productive cough. She has never smoked. For thirty years she has cooked indoors using cow-dung cakes on an unvented chulha. The indoor pollutant MOST responsible for her condition is:
- A Respirable particulate matter from biomass combustion ✓
- B Formaldehyde off-gassing
- C Nitrogen dioxide
- D Radon progeny
Correct answer: A. Respirable particulate matter from biomass combustion
Explanation
Solid biomass burning in traditional stoves releases very high levels of respirable particulates along with carbon monoxide, and long-term exposure is strongly linked to chronic bronchitis and COPD in non-smoking rural women, a pattern frequently described in Indian studies. Nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde are indoor pollutants but are associated mainly with kerosene heaters, unvented gas appliances and pressed wood products, not dung-cake cooking.
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.