Volume 9 • Issue 1 • 1000486 J Pulm Respir Med, an open access journal ISSN: 2161-105X J o u r n a l o f P u l m o n a r y & R e s p ir a t o r y M e d i c i n e ISSN: 2161-105X Journal of Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine Ovuakporaye et al., J Pulm Respir Med 2019, 9:1 DOI: 10.4172/2161-105X.1000486 Research Article Open Access A Comparative Study on Cardio-pulmonary Markers in Gas Flaring Communities, South-South Nigeria Ovuakporaye SI 1 , Enaohwo MT 2 , Odigie OM 1* and Igweh JC 1 1 Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria 2 Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria Abstract As health implications of frequent and/or inadvertent exposure to poor quality air rises in humans, studies have ranked Nigeria with highest incidences of natural gas faring across the globe; asserting her to contribute about 46% of overall gas faring in Africa. With numerous known faring sites within the country, this study compares markers of cardiovascular and respiratory functions in residents of Oben, Oshi, Ibeno, Ogbia and Agbaro-Otor Communities; common faring sites within the Niger Delta States of Edo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta; south-south Nigeria respectively. A stratifed random sampling technique was used to ethically recruit one thousand and eight (1008) participants from across selected communities. Following gender-sorting and obtaining of socio-demographic records (by a questionnaire) of subjects, cardiovascular and respiratory variables (respiratory rates, peak expiratory fow rate, pulse rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures) were obtained and compared between communities, depending on duration of exposure to gas faring. With p-value set at .05, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) proved that prolonged exposure to gas faring increased mean blood pressure with a decreased mean peak expiratory fow rate across sampled communities. Gender-dependent variation was also seen to vary across communities, implying that gas faring impact is gender and duration dependent. Similar, but more sophisticated approach is recommended for other areas in Nigeria with high incidences of gas faring. *Corresponding author: Odigie OM, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Physiology, College of Health Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria, Tel: +2347036844454; E-mail: osgiedeprof@yahoo.com Received January 07, 2019; Accepted February 13, 2019; Published February 22, 2019 Citation: Ovuakporaye SI, Enaohwo MT, Odigie OM, Igweh JC (2019) A Comparative Study on Cardio-pulmonary Markers in Gas Flaring Communities, South-South Nigeria. J Pulm Respir Med 9: 486. doi: 10.4172/2161-105X.1000486 Copyright: © 2019 Ovuakporaye SI, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Cardio-pulmonary; Gas faring; Niger Delta Introduction Addition of harmful substances to the atmosphere results in damage to the environment, human health, and quality of life. One of many forms of air pollution is gas faring. Tough copious volumes of gases are ofen fared in commercial scales across petrochemical industries within cities; across continents, in metropolitan areas and even globally; small scale faring of gas may also be seen in homes, schools, and ofces [1,2]. Te Niger Delta region, location in Nigeria where largest underground deposits of oil and gas resources are highest is a great example of such an area where faring activities occur on a regular basis. Te area is reputed for petroleum-rich oil, making up 7.5% of Nigeria’s landmass. Ofen pillaged by industrial waste activities of major oil exploration, the region spans 70,000 km 2 (27,000 sq mi) area of land within the southern coast of the country, Nigeria. Te efects of oil in fragile communities within the region have been reportedly enormous. According to the government of the federal republic of Nigeria; there were more than 70, 000 oil spills between 1970 and year 2000 with an estimated cleanup expected to span full restoration of creeks, mangroves, aquatic lives and swamps within a 25 years duration [3,4]. Health-wise, one of the adverse efects that may accompany prolonged exposure to fared environmental gases (as seen in the case with Niger Delta) is cardio-vascular and pulmonary abnormalities. Miller reported high incidences of cardio-pulmonary morbidities in pre-disposed subjects within gas fared environs in developing countries [5]. A 2007 study on women predisposed to air pollutants reportedly asserts that prolonged exposures to air pollution are linked with ischemic type of stroke instead of the hemorrhagic type [5]. Polluted air has also been related (by several studies) to increased incidences of coronary and cerebrovascular ailments [6]. Air pollution has been asserted to contain bursts of toxic chemical compounds that may be dangerous and harmful to the human health upon prolonged exposures. Such compounds as but unlimited to hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), carbon di-sulphide (CS 2 ), benzene, toluene, xylene, styrene, as well as oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen. Inhalation of H 2 S (for instance) in optimal concentration has been linked to spontaneous abortion. CS 2 on the other hand is a known powerful neurotoxin, with volatile aromatic compounds like benzene notorious as a systemic toxicant in humans at any given concentration; with a known potency to cause such health conditions as aplastic anemia, depression and pancytopenia [7]. Benzene, active component of fared gases is a known carcinogen in humans, having the ability to cause leukemia (blood cancer) in a non-mutagenic fashion. Concerning cardio-respiratory disease, studies have focused on harmful efects of air pollutants on infammatory blood markers, heart rates, blood pressures and respiratory rates [8]. In a cohort study by Argo, heart rate was shown to increase amongst adults of 25- 64 years old during an air pollution episode that monitors the trends and factors of cardiovascular disorders [7]. In another Pilot study by Ubirantan on vehicular trafc controllers, air pollution reportedly increased blood pressures and heart rates within the metropolitan city of Sao Paulo, Brazil [9]. A more recent study by Ativie reported increased cardiovascular and respiratory markers in saw-dust and paint mist polluted air of exposed workers within Enugu Metropolis of Enugu state, south-east Nigeria [10]. Inhalation exposure to cadmium