title: Use of biomass fuel is associated with infant mortality and child health in trend analysis.
abstract: Biomass fuel used for cooking results in widespread exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP), affecting nearly 3 billion people throughout the world. Few studies, however, have tested for an exposure-response relationship between biomass fuel and health outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between biomass fuel, infant mortality, and children's respiratory symptoms. Eighty households in a rural community in Ecuador were selected based on their use of biomass fuel and questioned regarding a history of infant mortality and children's respiratory symptoms. Carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) were measured in a subset of these homes to confirm the relationship between biomass fuel use and IAP. Results showed a significant trend for higher infant mortality among households that cooked with a greater proportion of biomass fuel (P=0.008). Similar trends were noted for history of cough (P=0.02) and earache (P<0.001) among children living in these households.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. srinne@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Seppo T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Rinne
authors.forename: Edgar J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Rodas
authors.forename: Mikael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rinne
authors.forename: Joshua M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Larry T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Glickman
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018533:Biomass; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003296:Cooking; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D012906:Smoke