Exposure to cooking fuels and birth weight in Lanzhou, China: a birth cohort study
Min Jiang1, Jie Qiu2, Min Zhou3
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, 17 People's South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. athene.jiang@hotmail.com.
Insights
Biomass cooking fuel exposure during pregnancy increases low birth weight (LBW) risk, primarily by causing preterm births, not intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). This highlights the need for cleaner cooking solutions to improve infant health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Perinatal Epidemiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Previous research linked biomass cooking fuels to increased low birth weight (LBW) risk.
- The specific mechanisms, whether prematurity or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between cooking fuel types and the risk of LBW and small for gestational age (SGA).
- To differentiate the impact of biomass fuel exposure on prematurity versus IUGR.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a birth cohort study in Lanzhou, China, involving 9,895 singleton live births.
- Comparison of birth weight and LBW/SGA risks across different cooking fuel groups (gas, coal, biomass, electromagnetic stoves).
Main Results:
- Biomass fuel use was associated with significant reductions in birth weight (87.84g) and more than doubled the risk of LBW (OR=2.51).
- The increased LBW risk from biomass was predominantly observed in preterm births (OR=3.43).
- No significant LBW associations were found for coal or electromagnetic stove users compared to gas users.
Conclusions:
- Pregnancy exposure to biomass cooking fuel is linked to an elevated risk of low birth weight.
- The impact of biomass fuel on LBW appears to be primarily mediated through increased prematurity, rather than intrauterine growth restriction.
Background:
Early studies have suggested that biomass cooking fuels were associated with increased risk of low birth weight (LBW). However it is unclear if this reduced birth weight was due to prematurity or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
Methods:
In order to understand the relationship between various cooking fuels and risk of LBW and small for gestational age (SGA), we analyzed data from a birth cohort study conducted in Lanzhou, China which included 9,895 singleton live births.
Results:
Compared to mothers using gas as cooking fuel, significant reductions in birth weight were observed for mothers using coal (weight difference = 73.31 g, 95 % CI: 26.86, 119.77) and biomass (weight difference = 87.84 g, 95 % CI: 10.76, 164.46). Using biomass as cooking fuel was associated with more than two-fold increased risk of LBW (OR = 2.51, 95 % CI: 1.26, 5.01), and the risk was mainly seen among preterm births (OR = 3.43, 95 % CI: 1.21, 9.74). No significant associations with LBW were observed among mothers using coal or electromagnetic stoves for cooking.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that exposure to biomass during pregnancy is associated with risk of LBW, and the effect of biomass on LBW may be primarily due to prematurity rather than IUGR.
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