PURPOSE To examine the association between household use of biomass fuels for cooking and birth weight. METHODS Analysis is based on 3559 childbirths in the 5 years preceding the 1999 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. Birth weights, recorded by trained professionals at local health clinics, were derived from health cards at home or from mother's recall. Multiple regression method was us...

In the last decade, a number of quantitative epidemiological studies of specific diseases have been done in developing countries that for the first time allow estimation of the total burden of disease (mortality and morbidity) attributable to use of solid fuels in adult women and young children, who jointly receive the highest exposures because of their household roles. Few such studies are ava...

Kerosene has been an important household fuel since the mid-19th century. In developed countries its use has greatly declined because of electrification. However, in developing countries, kerosene use for cooking and lighting remains widespread. This review focuses on household kerosene uses, mainly in developing countries, their associated emissions, and their hazards. Kerosene is often advoca...

Abstract The link between energy use, social and environmental well-being is at the root of critical synergies clean affordable (SDG7) other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Household-level quantitative analyses enable better understanding regarding interconnections level composition SDG achievement. This study examines household-level footprints in Nepal, Vietnam, Zambia. We calculate usi...

Introduction Three billion people cook with traditional biomass stoves and open fires. Results from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study have estimated that the consequent household air pollution (HAP) causes almost four million premature deaths annually—a health burden borne largely by the poor, women, and children in low-income countries (Lim et al. 2012). HAP has been linked both to some...

BACKGROUND There is evidence that household air pollution is associated with poor health in China, and that this form of air pollution may even be more of a health concern in China than the much-publicized outdoor air pollution. However, there is little empirical evidence on the relationship between household air pollution and health in China based on nationally representative and longitudinal ...

BACKGROUND Consequences of exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from biomass fuels used for cooking on neonatal deaths and stillbirths is poorly understood. In a large multi-country observational study, we examined whether exposure to HAP was associated with perinatal mortality (stillbirths from gestation week 20 and deaths through day 7 of life) as well as when the deaths occurred (macera...

BACKGROUND Reliance on biomass for cooking and heating exposes many women and young children in developing countries to high levels of air pollution indoors. This study investigated the association between household use of biomass fuels for cooking and acute respiratory infections (ARI) in preschool age children (<5 years) in Zimbabwe. METHODS Analysis is based on 3559 children age 0-59 month...

Nearly all China’s rural residents and a shrinking fraction of urban residents use solid fuels (biomass and coal) for household cooking and heating. As a result, by use of global metaanalyses of epidemiological studies, it is estimated that indoor air pollution from solid fuel use in China is responsible for ~ 420,000 premature deaths annually, more than the ~300,000 attributed to urban outdoor...

INTRODUCTION The use of solid fuels for cooking is associated with indoor pollution and lung diseases. The objective of the study was to determine the pattern and determinants of household sources of energy for cooking in rural and urban South Western, Nigeria. METHODS We conducted a cross sectional study of households in urban (Ado-Ekiti) and rural (Ido-Ekiti) local council areas from April ...