title: Impact of indoor air pollution from the use of solid fuels on the incidence of life threatening respiratory illnesses in children in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  India contributes 24% of the global annual child deaths due to acute respiratory infections (ARIs). According to WHO, nearly 50% of the deaths among children due to ARIs is because of indoor air pollution (IAP). There is insufficient evidence on the relationship between IAP from the use of solid fuels and incidence of life threatening respiratory illnesses (LTRI) in children in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Panel data of children born during 2001-02, from the Young Lives Study (YLS) conducted in India during 2002 and 2006-07 was used to estimate the impact of household use of solid fuels for cooking on LTRI in children. Multivariable two-stage random effects logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds of suffering from LTRI among children from households using solid fuels relative to children from households using other fuels (Gas/Electricity/Kerosene).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bivariate results indicate that the probability of an episode of LTRI was considerably higher among children from households using solid fuels for cooking (18%) than among children from households using other fuels (10%). Moreover, children from households using solid fuels in both the rounds of YLS were more likely to suffer from one or more than one episode of LTRI compared to children from households using solid fuels in only one round. Two-stage random effects logistic regression result shows that children from households using solid fuels were 1.78 (95% CI: 1.05-2.99) times as likely to suffer from LTRI as those from households using other fuels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this paper provide conclusive evidence on the harmful effects of the use of solid fuels for cooking on LTRI in India. The Government of India must make people aware about the health risks associated with the use of solid fuels for cooking and strive to promote the use of cleaner fuels.
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai, 400 088, India. ashu100789@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ashish Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Upadhyay
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai, 400 088, India. abhi_iips@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai, 400 088, India. kaushalendra.1983@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kaushalendra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. singhmb.ashish@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors