Background: Little is known regarding the effect of exposure to biomass fuel smoke inhalation on respiratory symptoms in the Bangladeshi population which is a major health hazard in most of the developing countries. This study aims to explore the association between respiratory symptoms and biomass fuel smoke exposure among children under 5 years of age.
Methods: Data were extracted from the Bangladesh Urban Health Survey conducted in 2013. A total of 10,575 mothers with at least one surviving children were selected. Respiratory symptoms among children under 5 years of age were considered as the primary outcome. Sequential multiple logistic regression models were used to observe the association between respiratory symptoms and biomass fuel smoke exposure adjusting the effect of residential factors and mother and child characteristics.
Results: Around 40% of the mothers exclusively used biomass fuel irrespective of the kitchen location and 54% of them were habituated in indoor cooking. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms of under-five children among in-house and outdoor biomass fuel users was 23.0% and 21.9%, respectively. Results of fitted multiple logistic regression models showed that the odds of having respiratory symptoms among children under 5 years of age were increased due to in-house biomass fuel use [OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.36] compared with the non-biomass user. An increased risk of respiratory symptoms was also significantly associated with mother's birth complication [OR = 1.51; 95% CI, 1.36-1.67], non-government organization (NGO) membership of mothers [OR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16-1.51], age of the child (6-23m) [OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.10-1.52], and nutritional status (stunting) [OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06-1.31].
Conclusion: This study found the use of in-house biomass fuel as a significant risk factor associated with respiratory symptoms of children under 5 years of age. More longitudinal studies should be designed to establish a causal relationship between HAP (household air pollution) and respiratory symptoms among children with more direct measures of HAP and clinical procedure.
Keywords: Bangladesh; Biomass fuel smokes; Respiratory symptoms; Under-five children; Urban health.