Biodigester Cookstove Interventions and Child Diarrhea in Semirural Nepal: A Causal Analysis of Daily Observations

Abstract

Background: Hundreds of thousands of biodigesters have been constructed in Nepal. These household-level systems use human and animal waste to produce clean-burning biogas used for cooking, which can reduce household air pollution from woodburning cookstoves and prevent respiratory illnesses. The biodigesters, typically operated by female caregivers, require the handling of animal waste, which may increase domestic fecal contamination, exposure to diarrheal pathogens, and the risk of enteric infections, especially among young children.

Objective: We estimated the effect of daily reported biogas cookstove use on incident diarrhea among children $<5y$ old in the Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Secondarily, we assessed effect measure modification and statistical interaction of individual- and household-level covariates (child sex, child age, birth order, exclusive breastfeeding, proof of vaccination, roof type, sanitation, drinking water treatment, food insecurity) as well as recent 14-d acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) and season.

Methods: We analyzed 300,133 person-days for 539 children in an observational prospective cohort study to estimate the average effect of biogas stove use on incident diarrhea using cross-validated targeted maximum likelihood estimation (CV-TMLE).

Results: Households reported using biogas cookstoves in the past 3 d for 23% of observed person-days. The adjusted relative risk of diarrhea for children exposed to biogas cookstove use was 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 1.71) compared to unexposed children. The estimated effect of biogas stove use on diarrhea was stronger among breastfed children (2.09; 95% CI: 1.35, 3.25) than for nonbreastfed children and stronger during the dry season (2.03; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.53) than in the wet season. Among children exposed to biogas cookstove use, those with a recent ALRI had the highest mean risk of diarrhea, estimated at 4.53 events (95% CI: 1.03, 8.04) per 1,000 person-days.

Discussion: This analysis provides new evidence that child diarrhea may be an unintended health risk of biogas cookstove use. Additional studies are needed to identify exposure pathways of fecal pathogen contamination associated with biodigesters to improve the safety of these widely distributed public health interventions. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9468.

Figure 1.

Animal dung is collected, combined with water and urine, and mixed into biodigesters via an inlet with an agitator, shown here after construction (left) and after being used (right).

Figure 2.

Stratified adjusted causal RRs of incident diarrhea among children under 5 y old who were exposed to biogas cookstove use in the last 3 d in comparison with those who were not exposed. Dashed line indicates null effect (where $\text{RR}=1$). Points represent stratified adjusted RRs and lines represent 95% CI. Stratified RRs were estimated using cross-validated targeted maximum likelihood estimation, with adjustment for repeated measures by child and for all covariates other than the stratified covariate itself. Corresponding numeric data are reported in Table 3. Note: CI, confidence interval; RR, relative risk.