Exposure to indoor air pollutants in Mexican indigenous women

Introduction
Indoor air pollution is considered to be a serious public health issue in Mexico; therefore, more studies regarding this topic are necessary. In many Mexican houses the principal work for women are cooking, cleaning, care the children, among others.

Methods
We assessed exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds in: 1) women living in communities where firewood combustion as the principal energy source and using rustic stoves indoors; 2) women living in communities where firewood combustion was the principal energy source and they used rustic stoves outdoors; and 3) women living in communities where LP gas was the principal energy source. Analyses of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), trans-trans muconic acid and hippuric acid were performed using high performance liquid chromatography.

Results
The highest levels of 1-OHP, trans-trans muconic acid and hippuric acid were found in communities where women were exposed to indoor biomass combustion (mean, 3.98 ± 5.10 µmol/mol creatinine; 4.81 ± 9.60 µg/L 1-OHP; 0.87 ± 1.78 mg/g creatinine for trans-trans muconic acid; and 1.14 ± 0.91 g/g creatinine for hippuric acid).

Discussion
Our findings indicate that an assessment of the impact of indoor air pollutants on people’s health is urgently needed.