Household concentrations and female and child exposures to air pollution in peri-urban sub-Saharan Africa: measurements from the CLEAN-Air(Africa) study
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SUBMITTER: Shupler M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10864747 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The Global Household Air Pollution (HAP) Measurements database, commissioned by the World Health Organization, provides an organized summary of data reported in the literature describing HAP microenvironments, methods and measurements. As of June 2018, the database contains measurements from 43 countries obtained from 196 studies published through 2016. The database includes information useful for understanding the range of household and personal air pollution measurements that have been collected in a country, as well as characteristics of the cooking environment, including primary cooking fuel type, stove type, heating fuel type and kitchen location. Quantitative particulate matter (PM) of various size fractions and/or carbon monoxide (CO) exposure measurements included in the database can be aggregated and analyzed to generate summary statistics (e.g. average sub-national, national, regional and global HAP exposures) to assess temporal and spatial relationships. The quantitative PM exposure measurements in the database have been used in global predictive modeling of HAP-PM2.5 exposures ("Global Estimation of Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) from Household Air Pollution" (Shupler et al., 2018) [1]).
| S-EPMC6231029 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Household air pollution (HAP) is a major public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where most of the populations still rely on solid fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting. This narrative review highlights the direct and indirect evidence of the important role of HAP in cardiovascular disease, especially in sub-Saharan African countries where highest rates of major cardiovascular disease and death are observed, and thus provides ample reason for promotion of preventive interventions to reduce HAP exposures in the region. There is an urgent need for efficient strategies to educate populations on the health issues associated with this health hazard, to provide affordable clean cooking energy for poor people and to promote improved household ventilation. High-quality data on household energy practices and patterns of HAP and related health issues are still needed for efficient policy making in this region.
| S-EPMC8031568 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 85% of the population uses polluting cooking fuels (e.g. wood, charcoal). Incomplete combustion of these fuels generates household air pollution (HAP), containing fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) and carbon monoxide (CO). Due to large spatial variability, increased quantification of HAP levels is needed to improve exposure assessment in sub-Saharan Africa. The CLEAN-Air(Africa) study included 24-h monitoring of PM2.5 and CO kitchen concentrations (npm2.5 = 248/nCO = 207) and female primary cook exposures (npm2.5 = 245/nCO = 222) in peri-urban households in Obuasi (Ghana), Mbalmayo (Cameroon) and Eldoret (Kenya). HAP measurements were combined with survey data on cooking patterns, socioeconomic characteristics and ambient exposure proxies (e.g. walking time to nearest road) in separate PM2.5 and CO mixed-effect log-linear regression models. Model coefficients were applied to a larger study population (n = 937) with only survey data to quantitatively scale up PM2.5 and CO exposures. The final models moderately explained variation in mean 24-h PM2.5 (R2 = 0.40) and CO (R2 = 0.26) kitchen concentration measurements, and PM2.5 (R2 = 0.27) and CO (R2 = 0.14) female cook exposures. Primary/secondary cooking fuel type was the only significant predictor in all four models. Other significant predictors of PM2.5 and CO kitchen concentrations were cooking location and household size; household financial security and rental status were only predictive of PM2.5 concentrations. Cooking location, household financial security and proxies of ambient air pollution exposure were significant predictors of PM2.5 cook exposures. Including objective cooking time measurements (from temperature sensors) from (n = 143) households substantially improved (by 52%) the explained variability of the CO kitchen concentration model, but not the PM2.5 model. Socioeconomic characteristics and markers of ambient air pollution exposure were strongly associated with mean PM2.5 measurements, while cooking environment variables were more predictive of mean CO levels.
| S-EPMC11865494 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Household air pollution (HAP), primarily from biomass fuels used for cooking, is associated with adverse health outcomes and premature mortality. It affects almost half of the world's population, especially in low-income and low-resourced communities. However, many of the 'improved' biomass cookstoves (ICS) aimed at reducing HAP lack empirical evidence of pollutant reduction and reliability in the field. A scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework was systematically conducted to explore and analyse the characteristics of cookstoves to assess the ICS available to meet the socio-economic and health needs of households in sub-Sahara Africa (sSA). The review searched Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Global Health Database on OVID, BASE, and conducted a grey literature search from 2014 to 2022 for all field-based ICS studies. In addition, user perspectives were explored for cookstoves analysed as available, affordable, and effective in reducing harmful biomass emissions. The search returned 1984 records. Thirty-three references containing 23 ICS brands were included. The cookstoves were analysed into seven categories: (1) efficiency in HAP reduction, (2) availability, (3) affordability, (4) sustainability, (5) safety, (6) health outcomes, and (7) user experience. Most (86.9%) of the improved cookstoves showed a reduction in harmful emission levels compared to the traditional three-stone fire. However, the levels were higher than the WHO-recommended safe levels. Only nine were priced below 40 USD. Users placed emphasis on cookstoves' suitability for cooking, fuel and time savings, safety, and price. Equality in cooking-related gender roles and psychosocial benefits were also reported. The review demonstrated limited field testing, a lack of evidence of ICS emissions in real-life settings in sSA, heterogeneity in emission measurements, and incomplete descriptions of ICS and kitchen features. Gender differences in exposure and psychosocial benefits were also reported. The review recommends improved cookstove promotion alongside additional measures to reduce HAP at a cost affordable to low-resource households. Future research should focus on detailed reporting of study parameters to facilitate effective comparison of ICS performance in different social settings with different local foods and fuel types. Finally, a more community-based approach is needed to assess and ensure user voices are represented in HAP intervention studies, including designing the cookstoves.
| S-EPMC10138283 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundGlobally, over four million deaths are attributed to exposure to household air pollution (HAP) annually. Evidence of the association between exposure to HAP and under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is insufficient. We assessed the association between exposure to HAP and under-five mortality risk in 14 SSA countries.MethodsWe pooled Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 14 SSA countries (N = 164376) collected between 2015 and 2018. We defined exposure to HAP as the use of biomass fuel for cooking in the household. Under-five mortality was defined as deaths before age five. Data were analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression models.ResultsOf the study population, 73% were exposed to HAP and under-five mortality was observed in 5%. HAP exposure was associated with under-five mortality, adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.33 (95% confidence interval (CI) [1.03-1.71]). Children from households who cooked inside the home had higher risk of under-five mortality compared to households that cooked in separate buildings [0.85 (0.73-0.98)] or outside [0.75 (0.64-0.87)]. Lower risk of under-five mortality was also observed in breastfed children [0.09 (0.05-0.18)] compared to non-breastfed children.ConclusionsHAP exposure may be associated with an increased risk of under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. More carefully designed longitudinal studies are required to contribute to these findings. In addition, awareness campaigns on the effects of HAP exposure and interventions to reduce the use of biomass fuels are required in SSA.
| S-EPMC7643379 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNearly 40% of the world's population is exposed daily to household air pollution. The relative impact of prenatal and postnatal household air pollution exposure on early childhood pneumonia, a leading cause of mortality, is unknown.Research questionAre prenatal or postnatal household air pollution, or both, associated with pneumonia risk in the first year of life?Study design and methodsThe Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study enrolled 1,414 nonsmoking, pregnant women before 24 weeks' gestation with prospective follow-up to the child's age of 1 year. We measured 72-h personal household air pollution exposures, indexed by carbon monoxide (CO), four times prenatally and three times postnatally. Weekly fieldworker surveillance identified ill-appearing children for physician pneumonia assessment. We used quasi-Poisson models to examine associations between prenatal and postnatal CO and physician-diagnosed pneumonia and severe pneumonia. Sex-specific effects were examined.ResultsOf the 1,306 live births, 1,141 infants were followed up with 55,605 child-weeks of fieldworker surveillance. The estimated risk for pneumonia and severe pneumonia in the first year of life increased by 10% (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% CI, 1.04-1.16) and 15% (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.28), respectively, per 1-part per million (ppm) increase in average prenatal CO exposure and by 6% (RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.99-1.13) per 1-ppm increase in average postnatal CO exposure. Sex-stratified analyses suggest that in girls, higher prenatal CO exposure was associated with pneumonia risk, while no association was seen in boys.InterpretationPrenatal household air pollution exposure increased risk of pneumonia and severe pneumonia in the first year of life. Clean-burning interventions may be most effective when begun prenatally.Trial registryClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT01335490; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.
| S-EPMC8628168 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Few epidemiologic studies have evaluated the effects of air pollution on the risk of Parkinson disease (PD).We investigated the associations of long-term residential concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM) < 10 ?m in diameter (PM10) and < 2.5 ?m in diameter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in relation to PD risk.Our nested case-control analysis included 1,556 self-reported physician-diagnosed PD cases identified between 1995 and 2006 and 3,313 controls frequency-matched on age, sex, and race. We geocoded home addresses reported in 1995-1996 and estimated the average ambient concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 using a national fine-scale geostatistical model incorporating roadway information and other geographic covariates. Air pollutant exposures were analyzed as both quintiles and continuous variables, adjusting for matching variables and potential confounders.We observed no statistically significant overall association between PM or NO2 exposures and PD risk. However, in preplanned subgroup analyses, a higher risk of PD was associated with higher exposure to PM10 (ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.45; p-trend = 0.02) among women, and with higher exposure to PM2.5 (ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 1.29; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.76; p-trend = 0.04) among never smokers. In post hoc analyses among female never smokers, both PM2.5 (ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.01, 3.17; p-trend = 0.05) and PM10 (ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.29, 4.26; p-trend = 0.01) showed positive associations with PD risk. Analyses based on continuous exposure variables generally showed similar but nonsignificant associations.Overall, we found limited evidence for an association between exposures to ambient PM10, PM2.5, or NO2 and PD risk. The suggestive evidence that exposures to PM2.5 and PM10 may increase PD risk among female never smokers warrants further investigation. Citation: Liu R, Young MT, Chen JC, Kaufman JD, Chen H. 2016. Ambient air pollution exposures and risk of Parkinson disease. Environ Health Perspect 124:1759-1765;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP135.
| S-EPMC5089873 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundPersonal monitoring can estimate individuals' exposures to environmental pollutants; however, accuracy depends on consistent monitor wearing, which is under evaluated.ObjectiveTo study the association between device wearing and personal air pollution exposure.MethodsUsing personal device accelerometry data collected in the context of a randomized cooking intervention in Ghana with three study arms (control, improved biomass, and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) arms; N = 1414), we account for device wearing to infer parameters of PM2.5 and CO exposure.ResultsDevice wearing was positively associated with exposure in the control and improved biomass arms, but weakly in the LPG arm. Inferred community-level air pollution was similar across study arms (~45 μg/m3). The estimated direct contribution of individuals' cooking to PM2.5 exposure was 64 μg/m3 for the control arm, 74 μg/m3 for improved biomass, and 6 μg/m3 for LPG. Arm-specific average PM2.5 exposure at near-maximum wearing was significantly lower in the LPG arm as compared to the improved biomass and control arms. Analysis of personal CO exposure mirrored PM2.5 results.ConclusionsPersonal monitor wearing was positively associated with average air pollution exposure, emphasizing the importance of high device wearing during monitoring periods and directly assessing device wearing for each deployment.SignificanceWe demonstrate that personal monitor wearing data can be used to refine exposure estimates and infer unobserved parameters related to the timing and source of environmental exposures.Impact statementsIn a cookstove trial among pregnant women, time-resolved personal air pollution device wearing data were used to refine exposure estimates and infer unobserved exposure parameters, including community-level air pollution, the direct contribution of cooking to personal exposure, and the effect of clean cooking interventions on personal exposure. For example, in the control arm, while average 48 h personal PM2.5 exposure was 77 μg/m3, average predicted exposure at near-maximum daytime device wearing was 108 μg/m3 and 48 μg/m3 at zero daytime device wearing. Wearing-corrected average 48 h personal PM2.5 exposures were 50% lower in the LPG arm than the control and improved biomass and inferred direct cooking contributions to personal PM2.5 from LPG were 90% lower than the other arms. Our recommendation is that studies assessing personal exposures should examine the direct association between device wearing and estimated mean personal exposure.
| S-EPMC11815893 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundApproximately 2·8 billion people are exposed to household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels. Few monitoring studies have systematically measured health-damaging air pollutant (ie, fine particulate matter [PM2·5] and black carbon) concentrations from a wide range of cooking fuels across diverse populations. This multinational study aimed to assess the magnitude of kitchen concentrations and personal exposures to PM2·5 and black carbon in rural communities with a wide range of cooking environments.MethodsAs part of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) cohort, the PURE-AIR study was done in 120 rural communities in eight countries (Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe). Data were collected from 2541 households and from 998 individuals (442 men and 556 women). Gravimetric (or filter-based) 48 h kitchen and personal PM2·5 measurements were collected. Light absorbance (10-5m-1) of the PM2·5 filters, a proxy for black carbon concentrations, was calculated via an image-based reflectance method. Surveys of household characteristics and cooking patterns were collected before and after the 48 h monitoring period.FindingsMonitoring of household air pollution for the PURE-AIR study was done from June, 2017, to September, 2019. A mean PM2·5 kitchen concentration gradient emerged across primary cooking fuels: gas (45 μg/m3 [95% CI 43-48]), electricity (53 μg/m3 [47-60]), coal (68 μg/m3 [61-77]), charcoal (92 μg/m3 [58-146]), agricultural or crop waste (106 μg/m3 [91-125]), wood (109 μg/m3 [102-118]), animal dung (224 μg/m3 [197-254]), and shrubs or grass (276 μg/m3 [223-342]). Among households cooking primarily with wood, average PM2·5 concentrations varied ten-fold (range: 40-380 μg/m3). Fuel stacking was prevalent (981 [39%] of 2541 households); using wood as a primary cooking fuel with clean secondary cooking fuels (eg, gas) was associated with 50% lower PM2·5 and black carbon concentrations than using only wood as a primary cooking fuel. Similar average PM2·5 personal exposures between women (67 μg/m3 [95% CI 62-72]) and men (62 [58-67]) were observed. Nearly equivalent average personal exposure to kitchen exposure ratios were observed for PM2·5 (0·79 [95% 0·71-0·88] for men and 0·82 [0·74-0·91] for women) and black carbon (0·64 [0·45-0·92] for men and 0·68 [0·46-1·02] for women).InterpretationUsing clean primary fuels substantially lowers kitchen PM2·5 concentrations. Importantly, average kitchen and personal PM2·5 measurements for all primary fuel types exceeded WHO's Interim Target-1 (35 μg/m3 annual average), highlighting the need for comprehensive pollution mitigation strategies.FundingCanadian Institutes for Health Research, National Institutes of Health.
| S-EPMC7591267 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Waste collection services are uncommon in rural areas of low-resource countries, causing waste accumulation and subsequent dumping and burning of garbage. Air pollution from household garbage burning, including plastics, has been observed in Jalapa, Guatemala in addition to household air pollution (HAP) from cooking. Adolescent girls often help with these cooking and household tasks, but little is known about their exposures. We characterized 24-h exposures to HAP and household garbage burning in adolescent girls by measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), urinary biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bisphenol A (BPA), and phthalates. We recruited 60 girls between 13 and 17 years of age who helped with cooking activities and lived with participants of the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial. We recruited n = 30 girls each from the control (wood-burning stove) and intervention (liquefied petroleum gas stove) arms. We also measured real-time kitchen concentrations of BC in 20 homes (33%). PM2.5 and BC were measured in n = 21 control and n = 20 intervention participants. Median concentrations of personal PM2.5 and BC and kitchen BC were lower (p < 0.05) in the intervention arm by 87%, 80%, and 85%, respectively. PAH metabolite concentrations were lower (p < 0.001) for all nine metabolites in intervention (n = 26) compared to control participants (n = 29). Urinary BPA concentrations were 66% higher in participants who reported using cosmetics (p = 0.02), and phthalate concentrations were 63% higher in participants who had reported using hair products during the sample period (p = 0.05). Our results suggest that gas stoves can reduce HAP exposures among adolescents who are not primary cooks at home. Biomarkers of plastic exposure were not associated with intervention status, but some were elevated compared to age- and sex-matched participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
| S-EPMC10714129 | biostudies-literature