2.1. Study Area
The research was carried out in the rural territories of Usme and Sumapaz (Bogotá, Colombia) located between 2,600 and 3,100 meters above sea level, it is located 31 km from the urban area of Bogotá, with a temperature that ranges between 4 and 19 °C (District Planning Secretariat, 2020). All the monitored houses were built in brick and cement, and because it is a rural area, the houses were scattered, that is, they were not close to each other, forming a neighborhood. It is important to highlight that, due to the temperature conditions, the use of stoves represents a heating alternative for rural homes, which in the face of spaces with limited ventilation contributes to the accumulation of pollutants.
2.2. Population
The research was developed from a cross-sectional study that recruited inhabitants of rural houses. The inclusion criteria included people who lived in rural homes in the towns of Usme and Sumapaz, it was established that they had lived for at least one year in the rural region. For the evaluation of pulmonary function, people who had respiratory symptoms such as coughing, expectoration or dyspnea, health conditions that prevented the performance of spirometry, as well as people who were unable to perform the maneuver for the examination were excluded.
Due to the geographic dispersion of the region and the limitation of resources of the study initially, it was established to calculate a sample size of 50 individuals with a confidence of 95% and a prevalence of COPD in rural areas of 15% and an error of 10%; however, the study resources allowed obtaining a total of 68 participants with an estimate of the standard error of 8%.
Regarding the measurement of air quality, in some homes the evaluation equipment was manipulated or disconnected from the electrical sources by the participants, which caused loss in the evaluations of the environmental variables for 19 people. Environmental and lung function assessments were carried out over a 4-month period between November 2018 and February 2019.
2.3. Air pollutant monitoring
In the indoor air quality monitoring, levels of particulate matter of less than 2.5 microns, as well as black carbon and carbon monoxide were measured. In this study, the measurement site was a room or living room that was always adjoining the kitchen. The measurement was carried out for at least 48 continuous hours for PM2.5 and CO, and 12 hours for black carbon in each of the houses.
Particulate matter: the Dusttrak II 8530 aerosol pollutant monitor was used to monitor particulate matter. This instrument uses optical dispersion to deliver real-time concentrations of PM2.5. The detection range is 0.001 to 400 mg / m3 with a resolution greater than 0.001 mg/m3 or 1% of the reading. The instrument was operated with a factory default setting of 3.0 L/min for the impactor to achieve the correct cut-off points. It was used and validated in reference studies (Canha et al., 2017; McNamara et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2016). The equipment was zeroed before each monitoring, the impact plate was cleaned and greased, and the 37 mm mesh filter was cleaned before measurements.
Black carbon: the concentration of BC in the PM2.5 fraction was measured with the MicroAethalometer model AE51, an equipment which measures the transmission of light at 880 nm through the active area of the filter (detection channel) in which the BC is collected. Also, it normalizes the detection channel results to changes in a reference channel, which monitors with a sample fraction of the same filter. The MicroAethalometer has been used in similar studies (Kar et al., 2012; De la Sota et al., 2018; Wierzbicka et al., 2018).
Carbon monoxide: Carbon monoxide was determined with the Q-trak Model 7575 Indoor Air Quality Monitor; It is a multi-function electrochemical sensor, which can measure CO, carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature and relative humidity (RH). It uses an electrochemical sensor to measure the CO concentration range from 0 to 500 ppm with an accuracy of ± 3% of reading or 3 ppm (whichever is greater), a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor to determine the CO2 concentration between 0 and 5000 pm with an accuracy of ± 3% of reading or ± 50 ppm (whichever is greater), a thermistor to measure the temperature between 0 and 60 °C with an accuracy of ± 0.5 °C and a thin-film capacitive element to measure relative humidity between 5 and 95% with an accuracy of ± 3% (TSI, 2018).
The data reported by the equipment, being in real time, requires post-processing, applying correction factors for DustTrak and Microaethalometer widely studied (McNamara et al, 2011; Perera & Litton, 2015).
Measurements obtained with the DusTrak require calibrations to improve the precision of concentrations when evaluating specific sources, for example, biomass combustion, cooking, diesel exhaust gases, among others (Rivas et al., 2017; Li et al., 2019). Furthermore, the results produced by optical samplers, such as the DustTrak, have been shown to differ when compared to gravimetric sampling methods. For this reason, the PM2.5 concentration data obtained in this study were applied the correction factor established by McNamara (2011) which was developed specifically for the use of firewood as fuel in indoor environments.
Similarly, black carbon measurements made with the MicroAethalometer are affected by multiple factors, including noise due to small random fluctuations in digitized signals and changes in the signal as a result of incremental loading of particles on the filter. For measurements, attenuation (ATN) is expected to increase as load on the filter spot increases; however, deviations from this monotonic relationship often result from electronic noise. Since the calculations are performed for successive ATN differences, negative values may appear and should be corrected. Therefore, the correction is made to the data obtained through processing used in reference studies (Cai et al. 2013; Good et al., 2017).
The place within the home was selected to locate the equipment, according to the permanence of the person in the home. It was carried out in this way taking into account what was done by Barría & Calvo, 2016, defining the height of the measurement according to the height of the person, on average 1.53 m in height, the location height ranged between 0.9 m and 1.70 m. The monitoring equipment was located in the room at 1.5 m distance from each other, ensuring the least interference between devices and activities of daily life. The instruments had the annual calibration certified by the laboratory of origin in the USA Table 1 summarizes the information on the monitoring characteristics and the correction factors used for the PM2.5 and BC readings.
Additionally, to obtain information that would allow an effective results analysis to be carried out, a question format was used, which is established based on what was done by Rumchev (2017) and considers both the characteristics of the dwelling and sociodemographic data additional to the one which had been already collected for the project (Rumchev, K. et al. (2017). Each home receives a format to keep track of the stove they use in order to contrast with the data recorded by the monitoring equipment. as well as to record emission activities, such as external events or use of the stove to produce products for commercial purposes.
2.4. Lung function assessment
After 48 hours of environmental monitoring, an evaluation of lung function was carried out. To do it, in each house, a table was located in a closed room where the spirometer, disposable mouthpieces, antibacterial filters were placed. Likewise, a computer to register the evaluation information was set next to it. To guarantee reproducibility and avoid biases in the collection of information, the spirometries were performed by a physiotherapist trained by an expert from the National University of Colombia. The training included handling, installation and performance tests of the equipment, time management to carry out the test, and voice commands for the motivation of the participants and unification of the test approval criteria. 5 piloting spirometries were performed in the Human Body Movement Department of the National University.
In order to carry out the spirometry, the professional explained the test to each participant. Then, there was a mock test which was corrected and provided feedback. Spirometry was performed following the protocol established by Miller et al (2005), who are part of the guidelines of the American Thorax Association and the European Respiratory Society. The equipment used was a SpiroBank G brand spirometer and Winspro software; the data was recorded in digital medium. The test was considered adequate after performing and recording 3 maneuvers which had met the acceptability criteria (correct start, stable plateau, plotting the curves without artifacts, slow and asymptotic termination and adequate duration), and repeatability criteria. The result of the maneuver that presented the least variability was selected (Miller et al., 2005).
In the same room, the physiotherapist evaluated the height with a height rod on a flat surface. Using a previously calibrated scale, body weight was determined, and oxygen saturation and heart rate were measured with a pulse oximeter.
The variables evaluated were the forced vital capacity (FVC) expressed in liters, the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) expressed in liters, the maximum expiratory flow (PEF) expressed in liters/seconds and the FEV1/FVC ratio (“Tiffeneau-Pinelli Index”). Finally, an index was established that relates FEV1the = FEV1 / (FEV1 PRE) and PEF1the = PEF / (PEF pre), this index establishes the proportion between the ideal values for the participant's height, weight and age and its relationship with the result obtained. In the analysis, these variables were considered since the FEV1 indicators and the FEV1/FVC ratio are the most sensitive and reproducible measurements to determine that there is bronchial airflow obstruction (Contreras & Martinez, 2006; Liñán Cortés, Cobos Barroso & Reverté Bover, 2008; Enright, Lebowitz & Cockroft, 1994).
For the interpretation of the results, the comparison of the found values and the theoretical values established by the software under the formula Theoretical - Crapo & Bass / Kundson corresponding to the Caucasian ethnic group was taken into account. To interpret spirometry results, lung function was classified according to the lower limit of normal (LLN) as follows: (1) restrictive defect, indicated by an FVC <80%, FEV ≤ 80%, and FEV1/FVC ≥LLN; (2) obstructive defect, indicated by a decrease in the FEV1/FVC ratio (less than 70%), a FEV1 <80% and an FVC ≥LLN; (3) combined defect, indicated by FVC <LLN, FEV1 <LLN and the normal FEV1/FVC ratio, increased or decreased, depending on the pattern that predominates the most (Pellegrino, et al., 2005; Romero de Ávila Cabezón, and others, 2013).
2.5. Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis of the data was performed for each of the pollutants under study, so that it would be possible to show the averages of the evaluations during the observed periods. In the evaluation variables of lung function, a description was made by means and standard deviation. For continuous variables, tests were performed to determine the normality of the distribution (Lilliefors, 1967). To make comparisons between the concentrations of pollutants and fuels used in cooking, non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney test) were performed, with a significance p value of 0.05. To establish an association between the lung function variables and the mean concentrations of the pollutants, a bivariate correlation matrix was made, which used the Sperman test for contrast, with significance values of 0.05.
Pulmonary function variables were included in a multiple linear regression by successive steps, adjusted for the main variables described as modifiers of the spirometry values, these are age, height, sex and history of tobacco use, multicollinearity assumptions were evaluated, randomization of variances in the residuals and the absence of influential individuals by extreme values that modify the model (Cook's distance). The data were analyzed in the SPSS software.
For the development of the project, the informed consent document was registered by a person of legal age living in each dwelling and was endorsed by the ethics committee of the EAN University.