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. 2022 Oct 28;19(21):14064.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114064.

Biomass Smoke Exposure and Atopy among Young Children in the Western Highlands of Guatemala: A Prospective Cohort Study

Wenxin Lu  1 , Laura Ann Wang  2 , Jennifer Mann  1 , Alisa Jenny  3 , Carolina Romero  4 , Andrea Kuster  5 , Eduardo Canuz  4 , Ajay Pillarisetti  1 , Kirk R Smith  1 , John Balmes  1 , Lisa Thompson  6
Affiliations

Biomass Smoke Exposure and Atopy among Young Children in the Western Highlands of Guatemala: A Prospective Cohort Study

Wenxin Lu et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Women and children in rural regions of low-income countries are exposed to high levels of household air pollution (HAP) as they traditionally tend to household chores such as cooking with biomass fuels. Early life exposure to air pollution is associated with aeroallergen sensitization and developing allergic diseases at older ages. This prospective cohort study assigned HAP-reducing chimney stoves to 557 households in rural Guatemala at different ages of the study children. The children's air pollution exposure was measured using personal CO diffusion tubes. Allergic outcomes at 4-5 years old were assessed using skin prick tests and International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)-based questionnaires. Children assigned to improved stoves before 6 months old had the lowest HAP exposure compared to the other groups. Longer exposure to the unimproved stoves was associated with higher risks of maternal-reported allergic asthma (OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.11-5.48) and rhinitis symptoms (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.13-3.58). No significant association was found for sensitization to common allergens such as dust mites and cockroaches based on skin prick tests. Reducing HAP by improving biomass burning conditions might be beneficial in preventing allergic diseases among children in rural low-income populations.

Keywords: CRECER study; allergy; asthma; biomass smoke; child health; eczema; household air pollution; rhinitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study diagram and timeline for the Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects (RESPIRE) and the Chronic Respiratory Effects of Early Childhood Exposure to Respirable PM cohort study (CRECER).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of average CO exposure levels (ppm) (A) and cumulative CO exposure (ppm-year) (B) during RESPIRE and CRECER study stages before first allergy questionnaire. Group 1 = <6 months; Group 2 = ~18 months and Group 3 = ~57 months).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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