Exposure to household air pollution from biomass cookstoves and self-reported symptoms among women in rural Honduras.
Household air pollution from combustion of solid fuels is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality, causing an estimated 2.6 million premature deaths globally in 2016. Self-reported health symptoms are a meaningful measure of quality of life, however, few studies have evaluated symptoms and quantitative measures of exposure to household air pollution. We assessed the cross-sectional association of self-reported symptoms and exposures to household air pollution among women in rural Honduras using stove type (traditional [n = 76]; cleaner-burning Justa [n = 74]) and 24-hour average personal and kitchen fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. The odds of prevalent symptoms were higher among women using traditional stoves vs Justa stoves (e.g. headache: odds ratio = 2.23; 95% confidence interval = 1.13-4.39). Associations between symptoms and measured PM2.5 were generally consistent with the null. These results add to the evidence suggesting reduced exposures and better health-related quality of life among women using cleaner-burning biomass stoves.
['Walker|Ethan S|ES|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4405-8568', 'Clark|Maggie L|ML|', 'Young|Bonnie N|BN|', 'Rajkumar|Sarah|S|', 'Benka-Coker|Megan L|ML|', 'Bachand|Annette M|AM|', 'Brook|Robert D|RD|', 'Nelson|Tracy L|TL|', 'Volckens|John|J|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7563-9525', 'Reynolds|Stephen J|SJ|', "L'Orange|Christian|C|", 'Africano|Sebastian|S|', 'Osorto Pinel|Anibal B|AB|', 'Good|Nicholas|N|', 'Koehler|Kirsten|K|', 'Peel|Jennifer L|JL|']
D000328:Adult D000393:Air Pollutants D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor D003296:Cooking D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D004781:Environmental Exposure D005260:Female D006721:Honduras D006801:Humans D008875:Middle Aged D052638:Particulate Matter D015995:Prevalence D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases D012424:Rural Population D057566:Self Report D014786:Vision Disorders
health Particulate matter respiratory