NCT01047696

Randomised Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects

Particulate Air Pollution Exposure and Childhood Acute Respiratory Infections in Guatemala: A Randomized Intervention

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 537 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, Berkeley · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study was to determine whether reduced exposure to indoor air pollution would reduce ALRI incidence in children \<18 months of age. Households were randomized to receive a chimney stove (intervention group) or continue using an open fire for cooking and heating (control group).

Detailed description

Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are the chief killer of children. Most cases are pneumonia and the majority occur among poor children under five years in developing countries. Poverty might be said to be the primary cause, which manifests as malnutrition, including micro-nutrient deficiencies, and lack of access to medical care. Another attribute of poverty is household indoor air pollution (HAP) from use of unprocessed solid fuels such as biomass (wood, animal dung and crop wastes) and coal in simple stoves. A meta-analysis of published observational studies found that young children exposed to smoke from household solid fuel use had a rate of ALRI twice that of children not exposed or where clean fuels were used. Recent studies have shown similar ALRI risks associated with short-term air pollution measurements and other indicators of exposure.

Conditions

• Respiratory Tract Infections
• Pneumonia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Plancha	locally developed chimney stove

Timeline

• Start date: 2002-10-01
• Primary completion: 2004-12-01
• Completion: 2005-03-01
• First posted: 2010-01-13
• Last updated: 2010-01-13

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Guatemala