Indoor air quality and acute lower respiratory infection in Indian urban slums.

Abstract

The present prospective study was conducted at two urban slums of Delhi, Kusumpur Pahari and Kathputly Colony, in the peak winter season from November 1994 through February 1995. We studied 642 infants to determine the incidence of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) and its relationship to indoor air pollution due to fuel used for cooking (wood or kerosene). In Kusumpur Pahari, there were 317 children (142 wood and 175 kerosene), including 64 controls and 78 cases of ALRI in the wood fuel group and 81 controls and 94 ALRI cases in the kerosene group (p > 0.05). Out of 316 children in Kathputly Colony (174 wood and 142 kerosene), there were 33 and 45 ALRI cases in the wood and kerosene groups, respectively (p < 0.05). Controls were children without ALRI and were used as controls in different groups. The demographic data and risk factors, namely, nutritional and immunization status, were comparable in ALRI cases and controls in both study areas. Pneumonia was the most common ailment in all the groups. Bronchiolitis was reported in 22.5% of the wood group and 27.1% of the kerosene group in Kathputly Colony versus 13.7% in the wood group and 12.1% in the kerosene group in Kusumpur Colony. Only one case of croup was reported from Kusumpur Pahari among wood users. The duration of illness was longer in the Kusumpur Pahari due to poor compliance, feeding, and child rearing habits. In conclusion, a higher incidence of ALRI was reported in kerosene users in Kathputly Colony, a high pollution area; however, the reasons for the differences observed need further elucidation.

Pneumonia of Children under 5 Years of Age in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo)

“…Regarding the use of oil lamps in India, Sharma et al report that they would increase the risk of mortality from pneumonia by 4.1 times [40]. These authors explain that petroleum lamps are potential sources of particularly harmful substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon nitrates that are inhaled deeply into the lungs [41].…”

Exposure of infants to outdoor and indoor air pollution in low-income urban areas — a case study of Delhi

“…The exposure assessment exercise was part of a larger epidemiological study that tested the association between indoor air pollution and acute lower respiratory infection in infants (Sharma et al, 1998). Zartarian et al (1997) have defined exposure to be the contact between an agent and a target.…”

Quantifying the effects of exposure to indoor air pollution from biomass combustion on acute respiratory infections in developing countries.

“…In these settings, many epidemiologic studies have used indirect and often inaccurate measures, such as fuel or housing type, as proxies for personal exposure in cross-sectional studies [for examples and discussion, see (27,(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)]. Given the nearly universal use of biomass fuels in rural areas, this indirect approach to exposure estimation clusters many people into a single exposure category.…”