Open fire ovens and effects of in-home lavash bread baking on carbon monoxide exposure and carboxyhemoglobin levels among women in rural Armenia

Artashes Tadevosyan; Marek A. Mikulski; Anne Baber Wallis; Linda Rubenstein; Satenik Abrahamyan; Lusine Arestakesyan; Marina Hovsepyan; Steve J. Reynolds; Laurence J. Fuortes

doi:10.1111/ina.12623

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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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Open fire ovens and effects of in-home lavash bread baking on carbon monoxide exposure and carboxyhemoglobin levels among women in rural Armenia

Artashes Tadevosyan, Marek A. Mikulski, Anne Baber Wallis, Linda Rubenstein, Satenik Abrahamyan, Lusine Arestakesyan, Marina Hovsepyan, Steve J. Reynolds and Laurence J. Fuortes

Indoor air, Vol.30(2), pp.361-369

03/01/2020

DOI: 10.1111/ina.12623

PMCID: PMC9514389

PMID: 31724228

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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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Title: Subtitle: Open fire ovens and effects of in-home lavash bread baking on carbon monoxide exposure and carboxyhemoglobin levels among women in rural Armenia
Creators: Artashes Tadevosyan - Yerevan State Medical University
Marek A. Mikulski - University of Iowa
Anne Baber Wallis - University of Louisville
Linda Rubenstein - University of Iowa
Satenik Abrahamyan - Yerevan State Medical University
Lusine Arestakesyan - Yerevan State Medical University
Marina Hovsepyan - Arabkir Joint Medical Center
Steve J. Reynolds - Colorado State University
Laurence J. Fuortes - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Indoor air, Vol.30(2), pp.361-369
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12623
PMID: 31724228
PMCID: PMC9514389
NLM abbreviation: Indoor Air
ISSN: 0905-6947
eISSN: 1600-0668
Publisher: Wiley
Number of pages: 9
Grant note: US Embassy, Yerevan, Armenia R24TW009568 / National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA Fullbright Scholar Program
Language: English
Date published: 03/01/2020
Academic Unit: Occupational and Environmental Health; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984363607402771

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