Prolonged solid fuel use is associated with higher risks of acute and chronic respiratory disease

What is it about?

Over 2.7 billion people worldwide are burning coal or wood (known as solid fuels) for cooking. The smoke produced is potentially harmful to the lungs but the extent of the effect has not been clearly known. We analyzed data from 280,000 Chinese non-smoking adults and found those of them who had been cooking with solid fuels for a long time were at higher risks of being admitted to hospital and dying from both acute and chronic lung diseases, compared with those who used less-polluting fuels. We also found people who cooked with ventilation or had switched to cleaner fuels had lower risks than those who did not.

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Why is it important?

While ambient air pollution (AAP) has been getting increasing public and media attention recently, the challenges from household air pollution (HAP), which is associated with 10-20 times higher intensity of exposure than AAP, is underappreciated. This is the first large-scale prospective cohort study quantifying the risks of hospitalisation and death of acute and chronic respiratory disease related to long-term solid fuel use. It highlights the potentially enormous disease burden from acute respiratory infection (e.g. pneumonia) that has been overlooked. More importantly, it provides evidence supporting switching to clean fuels even after prolonged exposure may help to alleviate the excess risks.