ArticleMalawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi2017
Maternal biomass smoke exposure and birth weight in Malawi: Analysis of data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey.
Article in Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Environmental exposures and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Appraisal of Epidemiological Studies on Household Fuel Use and Its Health Effects Using Demographic and Health Surveys.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- CT findings in biomass smoke-associated interstitial lung disease: A retrospective analysis.Journal of clinical imaging science · 2026Article
- Determinants of low birth weight and effect of indoor air pollution on birth weight: A case-control study in a tertiary care centre of Hubballi, Karnataka.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Analysing outlier communities to child birth weight outcomes in Malawi: application of multinomial logistic regression model diagnostics.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- Household use of crop residues and fuelwood for cooking and newborn birth size in rural Bangladesh.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2022Article
- Association between Wood and Other Biomass Fuels and Risk of Low Birthweight in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey Data.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Household Air Pollution from Cooking Fuels Increases the Risk of Under-Fives Acute Respiratory Infection: Evidence from Population-Based Cross-Sectional Surveys in Tanzania.Annals of global health · 2022Article
- Biomass fuel use and birth weight among term births in Nigeria.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- A neonatal ward-strengthening program improves survival for neonates treated with CPAP at district hospitals in Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Effect of biomass fuel use and kitchen location on maternal report of birth size: Cross-sectional analysis of 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey data.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2021Article
- Prenatal household air pollutant exposure is associated with reduced size and gestational age at birth among a cohort of Ghanaian infants.Environment international · 2021Article
- Understanding the association between gradient of cooking fuels and low birth weight in India.SSM - population health · 2021Article
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Abstract
backgroundUse of biomass fuels has been shown to contribute to ill health and complications in pregnancy outcomes such as low birthweight, neonatal deaths and mortality in developing countries. However, there is insufficient evidence of this association in the Sub-Saharan Africa and the Malawian population. We, therefore, investigated effects of exposure to biomass fuels on reduced birth weight in the Malawian population.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis using secondary data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic Health Survey with a total of 9124 respondents. Information on exposure to biomass fuels, birthweight, and size of child at birth as well as other relevant information on risk factors was obtained through a questionnaire. We used linear regression models for continuous birth weight outcome and logistic regression for the binary outcome. Models were systematically adjusted for relevant confounding factors.
resultsUse of high pollution fuels resulted in a 92 g (95% CI: -320.4; 136.4) reduction in mean birth weight compared to low pollution fuel use after adjustment for child, maternal as well as household characteristics. Full adjusted OR (95% CI) for risk of having size below average at birth was 1.29 (0.34; 4.48). Gender and birth order of child were the significant confounders factors in our adjusted models.
conclusionsWe observed reduced birth weight in children whose mothers used high pollution fuels suggesting a negative effect of maternal exposure to biomass fuels on birth weight of the child. However, this reduction was not statistically significant. More carefully designed studies need to be carried out to explore effects of biomass fuels on pregnancy outcomes and health outcomes in general.
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