Association of cooking fuel use with risk of cancer and all-cause mortality among Chinese elderly people: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

When cooking with biomass and fossil fuels, their incomplete burning can lead to air pollution, which can trigger pernicious effects on people’s health, especially among the elderly, who are more vulnerable to toxic and harmful environmental damage. This study explored the association between different cooking fuel types and the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality among seniors constructing Cox regression models. Data were obtained by linking waves of 6, 7, and 8 of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which included a total of 7269 participants who were 65 years old and over. Cooking fuels were categorized as either biomass, fossil, or clean fuels. And the effects of switching cooking fuels on death risk were also investigated using Cox regression models. The results indicate that, compared with the users of clean fuels, individuals using biomass or fossil fuels were at a greater death risk for cancer [HR (95% CI): biomass, 1.13 (1.05–1.20); fossil, 1.16 (1.06–1.25)] and all causes [HR (95% CI): biomass, 1.29 (1.16–1.42); fossil, 1.32 (1.22–1.50)]. Furthermore, compared with sustained users of biomass fuels, individuals converting from biomass to clean fuels significantly reduced death risk for cancer [HR (95% CI): 0.81 (0.72–0.95)] and all causes [HR (95% CI): 0.76 (0.64–0.93)]. Similarly, all-cause death risk [HR (95% CI): 0.77 (0.62–0.93)] was noticeably reduced among these participants converting from fossil to clean fuels than persistent users of fossil fuels. Subgroup analyses revealed that males had a greater cancer and all-cause death risk when exposed to unclean fuels. These findings can inform the development of policies and the implementation of measures related to cooking fuel use to promote the health of older people and reduce the burden of disease on society. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-023-27873-7.