Effect of Stubble Burning on Respiratory Function and Quality of Life in a Rural Community (Punjab, India) – A Prospective Observational Study

Agriculture and agro-based economy are the primary sources of livelihood in India. Agricultural activities not only provides the basic daily needs but also generates crop residues as a by-product, which are typically burned to prepare the fields for the successive crops. Crop residue burning or stubble burning is a simply a practice of intentionally setting fire in the field to get rid of crop residue for planting the next crop, i.e., rice and wheat. The primary aim of the present study is to “assess changes in respiratory function and quality of life of people living in the rural community of Punjab, India and to measure PM2.5 level in ambient air” during the study period. Study included “WHO-BREF questionnaire which is a survey of quality of life, monitoring of PM 2.5 level in ambient air using official data from “Punjab Pollution Control Board, socio-demographic profile of the participants, their Respiratory symptoms if any present was noted.” The mean age among participants was 41.99 ± 11.18. and Male: Female 31.5%:68.5%The mean years of education among participants were 3.52 ± 1.48 and 27 (21.8%) were unemployed as head of the family.13.7% of the participants had a symptom of wheezing: while 86.3% of the participant didn’t have it.14.5% of the participants had symptom of Breathlessness/Chest Tightness in the morning, whereas 85.5% had no symptoms. The mean duration of wheezing and tightness of the chest was 2.89+/-3.66. and 1.89+/-2.61, respectively, while the mean duration of shortness breath after exertion was 2.10 ± 2.37. Respectively, 13.7-24.2% of them had several respiratory symptoms mentioned in the result and discussion. On-parametric tests (Friedman test) were used to make a statistical inference as data were not normally distributed, which were statistically significant (p<0.05)3 months each for before, during and after burning respectively have been considered. There was a significant difference between the 3 groups in terms of PM2.5 (p <0.05) with the median PM2.5 being highest in the period: during burning group.