Disease burden due to biomass cooking-fuel-related household air pollution among women in India

BACKGROUND: Household air pollution (HAP) due to biomass cooking fuel use is an important risk factor for a range of diseases, especially among adult women who are primary cooks, in India. About 80% of rural households in India use biomass fuel for cooking. The aim of this study is to estimate the attributable cases (AC) for four major diseases/conditions associated with biomass cooking fuel use among adult Indian women. METHODS: We used the population attributable fraction (PAF) method to calculate the AC of chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis (TB), cataract, and stillbirths due to exposure to biomass cooking fuel. A number of data sources were accessed to obtain population totals and disease prevalence rates. A meta-analysis was conducted to obtain adjusted pooled odds ratios (ORs) for strength of association. Using this, PAF and AC were calculated using a standard formula. Results were presented as number of AC and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The fixed effects pooled OR obtained from the meta-analysis were 2.37 (95% CI: 1.59, 3.54) for chronic bronchitis, 2.33 (1.65, 3.28) for TB, 2.16 (1.42, 3.26) for cataract, and 1.26 (1.12, 1.43) for stillbirths. PAF varied across conditions being maximum (53%) for chronic bronchitis in rural areas and least (1%) for cataract in older age and urban areas. About 2.4 (95% CI: 1.4, 3.1) of 5.6 m cases of chronic bronchitis, 0.3 (0.2, 0.4) of 0.76 m cases of TB, 5.0 (2.8, 6.7) of 51.4 m cases of cataract among adult Indian women and 0.02 (0.01, 0.03) of 0.15 m stillbirths across India are attributable to HAP due to biomass cooking fuel. These estimates should be cautiously interpreted in the light of limitations discussed which relate to exposure assessment, exposure characterization, and age-specific prevalence of disease. CONCLUSIONS: HAP due to biomass fuel has diverse and major impacts on women’s health in India. Although challenging, incorporating the agenda of universal clean fuel access or cleaner technology within the broader framework of rural development will go a long way in reducing disease burden.