ArticlePloS one2019
Household air pollution and arthritis in low-and middle-income countries: Cross-sectional evidence from the World Health Organization's study on Global Ageing and Adult Health.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exposure to Occupational Inhalants and the Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Pooled it
- Pollutants: a candidate as a new risk factor for osteoarthritis-results from a systematic literature review.RMD open · 2022Pooled it
- The association between the residential environment and arthritis among the elderly in China: evidence from cohort and cross-sectional studies.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- Indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure in relation to incident symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a 10-year longitudinal cohort study in China.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The Intersection of Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors in Aging: Insights from a Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- American College of Rheumatology White Paper: The Effects of Climate Change on Rheumatic Conditions-An Evolving Landscape and a Path Forward.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2024Review
- Causal associations of air pollution with rheumatoid arthritis: A transethnic Mendelian randomization study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Exposome and unhealthy aging: environmental drivers from air pollution to occupational exposures.GeroScience · 2023Review
- Association between living environmental quality and risk of arthritis in middle-aged and older adults: a national study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Effects of pain and depression on the relationship between household solid fuel use and disability among middle-aged and older adults.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Global epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2022Review
- Solid Fuel Use and the Progression of Multimorbidity in Middle-Aged Chinese Participants: A Prospective Cohort Study.International journal of public health · 2022Article
- A longitudinal analysis of PM2.5 exposure and multimorbidity clusters and accumulation among adults aged 45-85 in China.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Prospective correlational time-series analysis of the influence of weather and air pollution on joint pain in chronic rheumatic diseases.Clinical rheumatology · 2021Article
- Understanding linkages between environmental risk factors and noncommunicable diseases-A review.FASEB bioAdvances · 2021Review
- Dental Amalgams and the Incidence Rate of Arthritis among American Adults.Clinical medicine insights. Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Household Air Pollution and Angina Pectoris in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Cross-Sectional Evidence from the World Health Survey 2002-2003.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Impact of climate change on rheumatic diseases: A scoping review.The journal of climate change and healthReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence points to a clear link between air pollution exposure and several chronic diseases though investigations regarding arthritis are still lacking. Emerging evidence suggests an association between ambient air pollution and rheumatoid arthritis. Household air pollution exposure, conversely, is largely unstudied but may be an important consideration for arthritis, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where cooking and heating activities can generate high indoor air pollutant levels.
methodsWe investigated the association of household air pollution (electricity vs. gas; kerosene/paraffin; coal/charcoal; wood; or agriculture/crop/animal dung/shrubs/grass as the main fuel used for cooking) and arthritis in six LMICs (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, South Africa) using data from Wave I of the World Health Organization Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE) (2007-2010). Multivariable analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, household and lifestyle characteristics and several comorbidities.
resultsThe use of gas (aOR = 1.76, 95%CI: 1.40-2.21); coal (aOR = 1.74, 95%CI: 1.22-2.47); wood (aOR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.30-2.19); or agriculture/crop/animal dung/shrubs/grass: aOR = 1.95 (1.46-2.61) fuels for cooking were strongly associated with an increased odds of arthritis, compared to electricity in cluster and stratified adjusted analyses. Gender (female), age (≥50 years), overweight (25.0 ≤BMI<30.0 kg/m2), obesity (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2), former and current alcohol consumption, and the comorbidities angina pectoris, diabetes, chronic lung disease, depression and hypertension were also associated with a higher odds of arthritis. Underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m2) and higher education levels (college/university completed/post-graduate studies) were associated with a lower odds of arthritis.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that exposure to household air pollution from cook fuels is associated with an increased odds of arthritis in these regions, which warrants further investigation.
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