biostudies-literatureRylance SUS National Institute of Environmental Health SciencesNIEHS NIH HHSMedical Research CouncilNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Wellcome Trust220-226https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7063402biostudies-literatureUnknown75(3)<h4>Rationale</h4>There are no population-based studies from sub-Saharan Africa describing longitudinal lung function in adults.<h4>Objectives</h4>To explore the lung function trajectories and their determinants, including the effects of air pollution exposures and the cleaner-burning biomass-fuelled cookstove intervention of the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS), in adults living in rural Malawi.<h4>Methods</h4>We assessed respiratory symptoms and exposures, spirometry and measured 48-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), on three occasions over 3 years. Longitudinal data were analysed using mixed-effects modelling by maximum likelihood estimation.<h4>Measurements and main results</h4>We recruited 1481 adults, mean (SD) age 43.8 (1ThoraxNon-communicable respiratory disease and air pollution exposure in Malawi: a prospective cohort study.PMC70634021855152MR/N013514/116/136/35MR/P022006/1MR/K006533/1206454/Z/17/ZR56ES023566206454R56 ES023566MR/L002515/1Gordon SBBalmes JRJewell CNaunje AMbalume FNightingale RMortimer KRylance SChetwood JDLesosky MFlitz GZurba LfalseNon-communicable respiratory disease and air pollution exposure in Malawi: a prospective cohort study.<h4>Rationale</h4>There are no population-based studies from sub-Saharan Africa describing longitudinal lung function in adults.<h4>Objectives</h4>To explore the lung function trajectories and their determinants, including the effects of air pollution exposures and the cleaner-burning biomass-fuelled cookstove intervention of the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS), in adults living in rural Malawi.<h4>Methods</h4>We assessed respiratory symptoms and exposures, spirometry and measured 48-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), on three occasions over 3 years. Longitudinal data were analysed using mixed-effects modelling by maximum likelihood estimation.<h4>Measurements and main results</h4>We recruited 1481 adults, mean (SD) age 43.8 (12020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 Mar2026-07-15T22:14:01.013Z2026-07-09T10:20:00.764ZS-EPMC70634023207966610.1136/thoraxjnl-2019-213941