Association of solid fuel use with risk of stunting in children living in China

Abstract

Stunting adversely affects physical and mental outcomes of children. It has not been examined whether household air pollution from solid fuel combustion is a risk factor for stunting in children. In a total of 41,439 children aged 6‐17 across China, height was measured using a unified protocol. Multivariable linear regression models and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations of solid fuel use for cooking/heating with stunting in children. Adjusted for covariates, cooking/heating with solid fuel was significantly associated with a lower z‐score for height for age and sex (β = −0.21 [−0.32 to −0.09] and −0.17 [−0.31 to −0.03], respectively) and an increased risk of stunting with an estimated ORs of 1.34 [1.07~1.68] and 1.37 [1.02~1.83], respectively. The risk of stunting associated with solid fuel use was statistically significant in high‐age children. And the effect was greater on girls than on boys, though the difference was not statistically significant. Our study suggested that Chinese children living in households using solid fuel had a significantly higher risk of stunting than those living in households using cleaner fuel.

Prenatal and Postnatal Household Air Pollution Exposure and Infant Growth Trajectories: Evidence from a Rural Ghanaian Pregnancy Cohort

“…2009 ). A cross-sectional study of Chinese children 6–17 years of age found that children living in households using solid fuels for cooking and heating had lower length-for-age -scores (LAZ) and an increased risk of stunting, with girls reported to be more vulnerable ( Liang et al. 2020 ).…”

Cooking, smoking, and stunting: Effects of household air pollution sources on childhood growth in India

“…Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and gaseous pollutants, which enter the lungs and the body system through breathing, impact the health of the children and, in turn, lead to morbidity among them. The pathways through the pollutants affecting stunting can be found elsewhere 31‐35 . A broad understanding of how cooking fuels impact child growth can be found in the conceptual framework in Bhagowalia & Gupta (2011) 36 .…”

“…The use of UCF for cooking is positively related to child mortality, respiratory disease, anemia, low birthweight, and malnutrition 37‐43 . Many studies have established the association between UCF and the prevalence of stunting 28,31‐35,37,44 . A few studies have also focused on ambient air pollution (PM 2.5 )—using measurement data and its impact on childhood stunting 45‐47 …”

Household biomass fuel use is associated with chronic childhood malnutrition: Result from a nationwide cross‐sectional survey in Bangladesh

“…22,30 A study conducted in China reported similar results to ours that a 34% higher risk of stunting among children living in solid fuel using household compared with clean fuel using household. 31 High level of CO, emitted from burning of biomass fuel, binds with hemoglobin in blood and forms carboxyhemoglobin which reduces the readily available hemoglobin in the blood. Pollutants such as benzopyrene and cresol can contribute to anemia.…”