The Assessment of Indoor Air Pollution associated with household fuel use in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India

India is one of the developing countries with high incidence of traditional fuel use in the rural areas such as Wood, Dung cakes, Agricultural residues and so on. The available literature shows the traditional fuels as a major contributor for increased levels of indoor air pollution in the developing countries. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of traditional fuel use and the exposure time among people in Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India. Settings and Design: Sirur Village, Bagalkot District. A Cross-Sectional Study. Methods and Material: The sample size N=185 was calculated according to the prevalence of traditional fuel use in rural India, Prevalence=86% shown by National Sample Survey report in 2001. The total households surveyed were 215. Statistical analysis used :Data collected was analyzed using SPSS (version 16.0) package. Results: The total population in 215 houses was 1,177. The prevalence of traditional fuel use was 100%. None of the kitchen had improved stoves with the presence of outlet pipeline (flue). The average cooking hours for a day was 5.6 hours divided into three sessions (Morning- 2.5 hours, Afternoon- 1 hour and Evening- 2.1 hours). There was a significant difference found between the prevalence of tuberculosis among adults and the type of the house. (Fisher’s exact test, at 0.05 level of significance). Conclusions: Women primarily cook in the rural houses using the traditional fuel and children in the age group of 0-15 years accounted for more than half of total people who were present in kitchen while cooking.