The health and social implications of household air pollution and respiratory diseases

Abstract

Approximately three billion individuals are exposed to household air pollution (HAP) from the burning of biomass fuels worldwide. Household air pollution is responsible for 2.9 million annual deaths and causes significant health, economic and social consequences, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Although there is biological plausibility to draw an association between HAP exposure and respiratory diseases, existing evidence is either lacking or conflicting. We abstracted systematic reviews and meta-analyses for summaries available for common respiratory diseases in any age group and performed a literature search to complement these reviews with newly published studies. Based on the literature summarized in this review, HAP exposure has been associated with acute respiratory infections, tuberculosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumoconiosis, head and neck cancers, and lung cancer. No study, however, has established a causal link between HAP exposure and respiratory disease. Furthermore, few studies have controlled for tobacco smoke exposure and outdoor air pollution. More studies with consistent diagnostic criteria and exposure monitoring are needed to accurately document the association between household air pollution exposure and respiratory disease. Better environmental exposure monitoring is critical to better separate the contributions of household air pollution from that of other exposures, including ambient air pollution and tobacco smoking. Clinicians should be aware that patients with current or past HAP exposure are at increased risk for respiratory diseases or malignancies and may want to consider earlier screening in this population.

Indoor Air Pollution, Related Human Diseases, and Recent Trends in the Control and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality

“…The respiratory system is frequently the primary target of IAP effects because pollutants often enter into the human body through inhalation. Depending on the area of the affected respiratory tract, acute respiratory infections can be classified into acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) and upper respiratory infections (URIs) [137]. URIs are illnesses involving the upper respiratory with common symptoms, such as cough, sinusitis, and otitis media [138], and they are often mild in nature and caused by biological pollutants (viruses, bacteria, fungi, fungal spores, and mites).…”

“…URIs are illnesses involving the upper respiratory with common symptoms, such as cough, sinusitis, and otitis media [138], and they are often mild in nature and caused by biological pollutants (viruses, bacteria, fungi, fungal spores, and mites). Meanwhile, ALRI, an acute infection of the lung, is caused by viruses or bacteria, resulting in lung inflammation [137]. It has been found that IAP increases the risk of childhood ALRI by 78%, which leads to a million deaths in children under 5 years of age every year [139].…”

Animal Models Reflecting Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Related Respiratory Disorders: Translating Pre-Clinical Data into Clinical Relevance

“…The disease has become a silent killer in low-and middle-income countries because of its slow progression in many patients [6][7][8]. Currently estimated to affect 328 million people worldwide, COPD is expected to become one of the leading causes of death within the next 2 decades, although data from outside the USA and European Union are still limited [9][10][11]. There has been a lack of funding for COPD research compared to that provided for other causes of global mortality and morbidity, despite the major public health problem COPD poses [12].…”

Protocol for a prospective multicenter cross-sectional observational study to investigate the role of air pollution on allergic rhinitis prevalence

“…[ 1 ] To evaluate the impact of outdoor air pollution on human health and implement appropriate protection policies, relevant studies have been conducted in the past decades. [ 2 , 3 ] Many adverse health problems have been reported associated with air pollution, including respiratory diseases (rhinitis, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia), [ 4 ] cardiovascular diseases (stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, and ischemic heart disease), [ 5 ] chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), [ 6 ] more rarely, conjunctivitis, [ 7 ] skin disease, [ 8 ] and cough. [ 9 ] Researches on the correlation between air pollution and respiratory diseases (such as asthma and COPD) are abundant, [ 6 ] while few studies investigated the correlation of allergic rhinitis (AR) with air pollution in China.…”