Biomass smoke exposures: health outcomes measures and study design.

Epidemiological studies of biomass smoke health effects have been conducted in a variety of settings and with a variety of study designs. The Health Effects Workgroup discussed several approaches for the investigation of health effects in communities exposed to wood smoke from nearby wildland fires, intentional agricultural burning, or residential biomass burning devices such as woodstoves or cookstoves. This presentation briefly reviews observational and intervention studies that have been conducted within these exposure settings. The review is followed by a summary of discussion points among the workgroup members with particular emphasis on study design and the use of biomarkers for assessing outcomes in biomass smoke-exposed populations.