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. 2021 Nov 15;18(22):11973.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182211973.

The Effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) on Lung Function in Children: A Systematic Review

Sathya Swarup Aithal  1 , Shireen Gill  1 , Imran Satia  2   3 , Sudhir Kumar Tyagi  4 , Charlotte E Bolton  5 , Om P Kurmi  2   3   6   7
Affiliations

The Effects of Household Air Pollution (HAP) on Lung Function in Children: A Systematic Review

Sathya Swarup Aithal et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 3 billion people today are exposed to smoke from the household combustion of solid fuels. While the household use of solid fuels has decreased over the last few decades, it remains a leading modifiable risk factor for the global burden of disease. This systematic review analyzed the impact of Household Air Pollution (HAP) on lung function in children (under 18 years of age), as this is the time period of accelerated growth rate until full skeletal maturity. Data from 11 published studies demonstrated that exposure to smoke from solid fuel was associated with a lower growth rate of several lung function indices (FVC, FEV1, FEF25-75) in children. However, there was no observed association between HAP and the FEV1/FVC ratio over time. Although the evidence suggests an inverse association between high exposure to HAP and lung function indices, there is a lack of longitudinal data describing this association. Therefore, precaution is needed to reduce the smoke exposure from solid fuel burning.

Keywords: household air pollution; indoor pollution; lung function; solid fuels.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

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Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram.
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