Title : Does cooking fuel in the household determine heart disease among women in India? Evidence from the demographic and health survey (DHS)
Abstract:
The use of cooking fuel is more likely associated with the decline of human health and especially women. Globally, approximately 2.8 billion people are still using polluting cooking fuel (PCF), which penetrates health-damaging pollutants and small particles that affect the lungs and the entire blood system. The present study aims to explore the association between household indoor pollution and heart disease among women in India using DHS data. The household indoor air pollution (HIAP) has been computed by the calculated value of PCF and exposure to smoking. Bivariate analysis was used to find the association between the prevalence of polluting cooking fuel and heart disease among women in India. Further, binary logistic regression was carried out to examine the odds ratio (OR) of heart disease against types of cooking fuels and other background characteristics. Results show that the prevalence of HIAP and heart disease among women in India is 70 percent and 0.72 percent, respectively. The study reveals that exposure to polluting cooking fuel increases the likelihood of heart disease among women (OR:1.222; p<0.05). In addition, smoking habits, age of women, and types of occupation are significantly associated with the prevalence of heart diseases.
Key words: Indoor Air Pollution; Polluting Cooking Fuel (PCF); Clean Cooking Fuel (CCF); Heart Disease; Women.
