Prenatal and Postnatal Household Air Pollution Exposure and Infant Growth Trajectories: Evidence from a Rural Ghanaian Pregnancy Cohort
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), household air pollution (HAP) from the burning of solid fuels in combustion-inefficient traditional stoves resulted in approximately 2.3 million deaths and 91.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2019.
In LMICs, on average, an estimated 65% of households cook with solid fuels. Women frequently are the primary household cooks and continue to cook while pregnant. Thus, HAP exposures begin in utero and continue across the life course. Studies using questionnaires to characterize HAP exposure suggest an effect of early life HAP on child growth; however, exposure-response relationships have been limited to birth weight.
A CCA-funded study aimed to better understand how HAP exposure alters early childhood growth and whether clean-burning interventions to reduce HAP can improve growth is imperative.
