A recent study has found that there is no link between infant stunting and the use of biomass fuel for cooking. The intervention strategy which was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine was aimed at reducing household air pollution and compared the heights of infants born to women who use biomass fuels and infants born to women who use Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The intervention covered the women’s pregnancy period up till one year after delivery. The trial was funded by the Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial was conducted to see if replacing biomass cookstoves with LPG cookstoves could reduce the known impact of household pollution on stunting in infants.
Childhood Stunting refers to the impaired growth and development of children, both physically and cognitively, due to chronic malnutrition and inadequate healthcare. The affected children are too short for their age due to poor nutrition, repeated infections, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
Childhood stunting is associated with increased household air pollution. Household air pollution is a leading environmental risk factor in low- and middle-income countries, accounting for an estimated 2.3 million premature deaths and 91.5 million disability-adjusted life years lost in 2019.
Household air pollution arises from incomplete burning of biomass fuels, used by 36% of the global population for cooking in 2020. Women and children under 5 are particularly exposed. In 2019, about 9% of global childhood deaths were linked to this pollution, associated with poor health and childhood stunting (height more than two standard deviations below the WHO standard).
Despite understanding factors contributing to childhood stunting, an estimated 144 million children under 5 globally had stunted growth in 2019. Stunting is linked not only to immediate health issues but also to long-term educational and economic challenges.
Find more information on HAPIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02944682.
Sources
- Checkley, W; Thompson, L; et al. (2024, Jan 4). Effects of Cooking with Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass on Stunting in Infants. N Engl J Med 2024; 390:44-54
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2302687. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2302687?query=featured_home - W.H.O (2016, April 7). Childhood Stunting: Context, Causes, and Consequences. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/childhood-stunting-context-causes-and-consequences-framework
