Household Fuel Use and Acute Respiratory Infections in Children Under Five Years of Age in Gondar city of Ethiopia

Abstract

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the leading cause of childhood illness and death worldwide, accounting for an estimated 6.5% of the entire global burden of disease.  This study investigated the association between household use of biomass fuels for cooking and acute respiratory infections in preschool age children (< 5 years) in Gondar city of Ethiopia. This cross sectional study was based on 715 children age 0–59 months included in three clusters randomly selected from 12 administrative areas of Gondar city. Children who suffered from cough accompanied by short, rapid breathing during the two weeks preceding the survey were defined as having suffered from ARI. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of suffering from ARI among children from households using biomass fuels (wood, dung or straw) relative to children from households using cleaner fuels (liquid petroleum gas (LPG), or electricity) after controlling for potentially confounding factors. More than half of the children (54.7%) lived in households using biomass fuels from which 26.3% suffered from ARI during the 2 weeks preceding the survey interview. Children in households using wood, dung, or straw for cooking were 3.89 times more likely to have suffered from ARI as compared to children from households using LPG or electricity (OR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.54, 28.25). Household’s use of high pollution biomass fuels is significantly associated with ARI in preschool age children in Gondar city, Ethiopia. The relationship needs to be further investigated using more direct measures of smoke exposure and clinical measures of ARI.

Keywords: Acute respiratory illness, Indoor air pollution, Biomass combustion, Gondar city