Estimation of Factors Affecting Water Consumption in a Fluoride Contamination Region at Buak Khang Sub-district, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

摘要

Prior studies have found high fluoride concentration (5.46 - 6.08 mg/L) in the groundwater in the Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. This study aimed at the measuring drinking and cooking water consumption and determining factors affecting water consumption in order to assess fluoride intake from these sources. Thus, a 3-week water consumption survey was conducted for 183 individuals of 35 randomly selected households from fluoride (F) affected village of Buak Khang Sub-district. The drinking and cooking water consumption was directly measured by providing water bottles to the survey participants. The average drinking water consumption on weekdays by female and male was 1.75 ± 0.75 and 1.62 ± 0.85 L/capita/day, respectively; on weekends by female and male was 1.78 ± 0.79 and 1.81 ± 1.04 L/capita/day, respectively. Body weight and participant's age are the factors that significantly affected drinking water consumption. The average cooking water consumption on weekdays and weekends was 3.80 ± 1.90 and 5.06 ± 3.04 L/household/day, correspondingly. It is significantly correlated with the number of household members. Finally, exposure to fluoride content in the surveyed population was estimated based on the water consumption and fluoride content data obtained in this survey.