Short term exposure to cooking fumes and pulmonary function

Background: Exposure to cooking fumes may have different deleterious effects on the respiratory system. The aim of this study was to look at possible effects from inhalation of cooking fumes on pulmonary function. Methods: Two groups of 12 healthy volunteers (A and B) stayed in a model kitchen for two and four hours respectively, and were monitored with spirometry four times during twenty four hours, on one occasion without any exposure, and on another with exposure to controlled levels of cooking fumes. Results: The change in spirometric values during the day with exposure to cooking fumes, were not statistically significantly different from the changes during the day without exposure, with the exception of forced expiratory time (FET). The change in FET from entering the kitchen until six hours later, was significantly prolonged between the exposed and the unexposed day with a 15.7% increase on the exposed day, compared to a 3.2% decrease during the unexposed day (p-value = 0.03). The same tendency could be seen for FET measurements done immediately after the exposure and on the next morning, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: In our experimental setting, there seems to be minor short term spirometric effects, mainly affecting FET, from short term exposure to cooking fumes.