Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2013 Sep;107(9):535-44. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trt055. Epub 2013 Jul 29.
This study is the second to investigate the association between the use of biomass fuels (BMF) for household cooking and anaemia and stunting in children. Such fuels include coal, charcoal, wood, dung and crop residues.
Data from the 2006-2007 Swaziland Demographic and Health Survey (a cross-sectional study design) were analysed. Childhood stunting was ascertained through age and height, and anaemia through haemoglobin measurement. The association between BMF use and health outcomes was determined in multinomial logistic regression analyses. Various confounders were considered in the analyses.
A total of 1150 children aged 6-36 months were included in the statistical analyses, of these 596 (51.8%) and 317 (27.6%) were anaemic and stunted, respectively. BMF use was not significantly associated with childhood anaemia in univariate analysis. Independent risk factors for childhood anaemia were child's age, history of childhood diarrhoea and mother's anaemia status. No statistically significant association was observed between BMF use and childhood stunting, after adjusting for child's gender, age, birth weight and preceding birth interval.
This study identified the need to prioritize childhood anaemia and stunting as health outcomes and the introduction of public health interventions in Swaziland. Further research is needed globally on the potential effects of BMF use on childhood anaemia and stunting.
本研究是第二项针对家庭烹饪使用生物质燃料（BMF）与儿童贫血和发育迟缓之间关系的研究。这类燃料包括煤、木炭、木材、粪便和农作物残余物。
对 2006-2007 年斯威士兰人口与健康调查（横断面研究设计）的数据进行了分析。通过年龄和身高确定儿童发育迟缓，通过血红蛋白测量确定贫血。采用多项逻辑回归分析确定 BMF 使用与健康结果之间的关联。在分析中考虑了各种混杂因素。
共有 1150 名 6-36 个月的儿童纳入了统计分析，其中 596 名（51.8%）和 317 名（27.6%）患有贫血和发育迟缓。在单因素分析中，BMF 使用与儿童贫血无显著相关性。儿童贫血的独立危险因素为儿童年龄、儿童腹泻史和母亲贫血状况。在调整儿童性别、年龄、出生体重和前次出生间隔后，BMF 使用与儿童发育迟缓之间未观察到统计学显著关联。
本研究确定了将儿童贫血和发育迟缓作为健康结果并在斯威士兰引入公共卫生干预措施的优先事项。全球需要进一步研究 BMF 使用对儿童贫血和发育迟缓的潜在影响。
