Open fire ovens and effects of in-home lavash bread baking on carbon monoxide exposure and carboxyhemoglobin levels among women in rural Armenia |
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Authors: | Artashes Tadevosyan Marek A Mikulski Anne Baber Wallis Linda Rubenstein Satenik Abrahamyan Lusine Arestakesyan Marina Hovsepyan Steve J Reynolds Laurence J Fuortes |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Public Health and Healthcare Organization, Yerevan State Medical University, Yerevan, Armenia;2. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA;3. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA;4. Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA;5. Arabkir Joint Medical Center- Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, Yerevan, Armenia;6. Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA |
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Abstract: | Lavash is a traditional flatbread commonly baked at home by women in Armenia and other Middle Eastern and Caucasus countries. The baking process follows centuries' old recipes and is done primarily in open fire ovens. Data are limited regarding the impact of baking on indoor air quality and health outcomes. This study aimed at assessing the effects of lavash baking on household air pollution and cardiovascular outcomes among women who bake lavash in rural Armenia. A convenience sample of 98 bakers, all women, never-smokers, representing 36 households were enrolled. Carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels were monitored before, during, and/or after baking. As expected, exposure to concentrations of CO peaking at/or above 35-ppm during baking was more likely to occur in homes with fully enclosed and poorly ventilated baking rooms, compared to those with three or fewer walls and/or one or more windows. Bakers in homes where CO concentrations peaked at/or above 35-ppm were more likely to have an increase in post-baking COHb levels compared to those in homes with lower CO concentrations. |
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Keywords: | carbon monoxide carboxyhemoglobin indoor air quality lavash open fire ovens ventilation |
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