Indoor air pollution from solid fuel use, chronic lung diseases and lung cancer in Harbin, Northeast China

Abstract

In some areas of China, indoor air pollution (IAP) originating principally from the combustion of solid fuels has a relevant role in lung cancer. Most previous studies focused on the female population and only a few on both the sexes. We analyzed the relationship between IAP from solid fuel use and selected chronic lung diseases and lung cancer risk in Harbin, Northeast China, an area with a very high base line risk of lung cancer for both the sexes. We used data from a case-control study conducted between 1987 and 1990, including 218 patients with incident, histologically confirmed lung cancer and 436 controls admitted to the same hospitals as cases. We calculated an index of IAP from solid fuel use exposure using data on heating type, cooking fuel used, and house measurements. Cases reported more frequently than controls an exposure to coal fuel for house heating and/or cooking, and the odds ratio (OR) for ever versus never exposed was 2.19 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-4.46]. The ORs of lung cancer according to subsequent tertiles of IAP exposure index were 1.82 (95% CI: 1.14-2.89) and 1.99 (95% CI: 1.26-3.15) as compared with the lowest tertile. The ORs of lung cancer for participants with a history of chronic bronchitis and tuberculosis were 3.79 (95% CI: 2.38-6.02) and 3.82 (95% CI: 1.97-7.41), respectively. This study gives further support and quantification of the positive association between IAP, history of selected nonmalignant lung diseases, and lung cancer risk for both the sexes.

Fiber-optic bronchoscope and detection of lung cancer: A five year study

“…The high incidence of lung cancer among elderly subjects may be related to factors like smoking status, food habit, occupational exposure and infectious diseases [19,22,[23][24][25]. Moreover, the lack of observed gender predisposition for lung cancer types among subjects more than 60 years of age supports ours assumption that the elderly in China are predisposed to malignancy [26] ( Table 3).…”

History of lung disease and risk of lung cancer in a population with high household fuel combustion exposures in rural China

“…Here we report that COPD is associated with lung cancer risk, furthering the previous observations and supporting the hypothesis that COPD is not only an independent risk factor for lung cancer, but also that COPD may mediate the coal exposure and lung cancer relationship by serving as an intermediary in the causal pathway. A study carried out in Northeast China also supports this hypothesis[14]. Galeone et al found that history of COPD was associated with about a 4-fold increased risk of lung cancer in Harbin[14].…”

Epidemiological and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Lung Cancer in a Teaching Hospital in Iran

“…In 2010, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared that the pollution produced by biomass utilization is considered as a possible carcinogen for human (Reid et al, 2012). In a study reported in China in 2008, an association between the indoor air pollution (IAP) due to solid fuel and chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer was confirmed (Galeone et al, 2008). Also, the association between more efficient ventilation of residential building and reduced risk of respiratory diseases has been investigated in a study (Kurmi et al, 2010).…”