Introduction and aim: Air pollution, a major environmental threat to human health, contributes to the premature deaths of millions of people worldwide. Cooking with solid fuels, such as charcoal and wood, in low- and middle-income countries generates very high emissions of particulate matter within and near the household as a result of their inefficient combustion. Women are especially exposed, as they often perform the cooking. The purpose of this study was to assess the burden of disease attributable to household air pollution exposure from cooking among women in Adama, Ethiopia.
Methods: AirQ+ software (WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark) was used to assess the health impact of household air pollution by estimating the burden of disease (BoD) including Acute Lower Respiratory Infections (ALRI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), lung cancer, and stroke, among a cohort of women in Adama. Household air pollution exposure estimated by cooking fuel type was assessed through questionnaires.
Results: Three-quarters (75%) of Adama's population used solid fuel for cooking; with this, the household air pollution attributable mortality was estimated to be 50% (95% CI: 38-58%) due to ALRI, 50% (95% CI: 35-61%) due to COPD, 50% (95% CI: 27-58%) due to lung cancer, (95% CI: 23-48%) due to IHD, and (95% CI: 23-51%) due to stroke. The corresponding disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 women ranged between 6000 and 9000 per disease.
Conclusions: This health impact assessment illustrates that household air pollution due to solid fuel use among women in Adama leads to premature death and a substantial quantity of DALYs. Therefore, decreasing or eliminating solid fuel use for cooking purposes could prevent deaths and improve quality of life.
Keywords: burden of disease; disease-adjusted life years; health impact assessment; household air pollution; mortality rates.