Relationship Between Biomass Exposure, Chronic Headache and Brain Damage in Young Women

Abstract

Biomass, an energy source, is the general name of all non-fossilized biological material obtained from living or recently living organism. Household use of solid biomass fuels is the most common cause of indoor air pollution (IAP) worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between biomass exposure and the presence of headache and brain damage in young women. This cross-sectional study included patient group consisted of 69 women who applied to the neurology outpatient clinic with complaints of chronic headache and fatigue and the control group consisted of 26 healthy volunteer women who were not exposed to tandir smoke. In all subjects, blood samples were obtained for biochemical analysis and brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan was performed to evaluate brain damage. In the patient group, ischemic gliotic foci were detected in 56 patient (81.2%) while in the control group, gliotic foci was detected in 3 subjects (11.5%). The prevalence of gliotic foci was almost 8 times higher in subjects with a history of biomass smoke exposure than in subjects without a history of biomass smoke exposure (81.2% vs. 11.5%). These findings suggest that indoor air pollution may have an effect on the risk of headache and brain damage. However additional studies with larger sample sizes and including other ethnic or environmental communities are needed to determine in detail the role of indoor air pollution in the occurrence of headaches and brain damage. © 2020, Yuzuncu Yil Universitesi Tip Fakultesi. All rights reserved.