85% have health issues due to stubble burning: Study

The practice of farmers burning paddy stubble affects the health of nearly 85% people living in Bathinda and Muktsar districts in one form or another, a joint study conducted by a private medical institute in Punjab and an association of doctors has concluded.

The study, conducted by the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR) and the Malwa branch of Association of Physicians of India, involved 8,573 people living in urban and rural areas of the two districts. The survey showed that nearly 85% of the respondents from all age groups suffered from one or another health problem due to smoke from stubble burning. Of the total respondents, 49.1% were men and 50.9% women. While 60.2% were from urban areas, 39.8% lived in villages.

An aassociate professor in the department of medicine at AIMSR, Dr Vitull K Gupta, said, "This year, paddy stubble burning caused an alarmingly dangerous increase in air pollution, as a thick blanket of smog enveloped the entire region for more than three weeks in October and November. Stubble burning had attracted international attention with US-based NASA releasing satellite images showing large number of fires over lakhs of hectares of agriculture fields in Punjab. This forced us to carry out an extensive study over causes of air pollution."

The survey showed that 84.5% respondents suffered health problems due to the smoke from stubble burning. Young, old, males and females suffered equally, though more people in rural areas were at the receiving end. In all, 76.8% respondents reported irritation in eyes.

Many people reported multiple problems. While 44.8% respondents reported irritation in nose, 45.5% had irritation in throat. Coughing or increase in coughing was reported by 41.6% people; 18% people reported wheezing because of smoke; 21.5% people felt tightness in chest.

Dr Vitull said the survey showed that 15.5% people did not have any health problems or symptoms. He said 17.1% reported having only one symptom, 15.9% two types of symptoms together, 14.7% subjects suffered from three symptoms, 11.7% had four adverse health affect symptoms, 8.4% confronted with five problems, 6.4% suffered from six types of adverse health effects, 3.2% subjects suffered from seven symptoms simultaneously and 7.1% respondents reported all eight symptoms.

Dr Tanvir Kaur, Dr A K Maria, Dr Narayanjeet Singh, Dr P P S Coonar, Dr Meghna Gupta and Dr Sonia Arora worked as associate investigators for the survey. The investigators had prepared a questionnaire of health related 11 queries.

During the survey, it was also found that 26.4% respondents took medicines or increased their dosage because of smoky environment, while 25.1% people consulted doctors because of adverse health effects caused by smoke associate with stubble burning.

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