Impact of household air pollution on under 5 mortalities and ARI in sub saharan africa: evidence from demographic and health survey 2010–2020

作者：Darko K. Joseph, Duah Dwomoh, Justice Moses K. Aheto, Julius N. Fobil · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1038/s41598-026-38186-3 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Energy and Environment Impacts、Air Quality and Health Impacts、Child Nutrition and Water Access

Household air pollution (HAP) is a major environmental health risk globally and is strongly associated with adverse child health outcomes, including neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality. Household environmental conditions such as water source, sanitation, cooking fuel type, and housing materials (roofing and walling) influence exposure levels and subsequent health risks. While there is robust global evidence linking HAP to poor child health outcomes, evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains comparatively limited, despite the region bearing a disproportionately high burden of solid fuel use and child mortality. This gap constrains a comprehensive understanding of the magnitude and contextual drivers of HAP-related risks among children in SSA. We investigated the association between HAP due to household environmental variables (source of water, sanitation, type of cooking fuel, roofing materials, walling material etc.) and selected child health outcomes (neonatal, infant, ARI and under five mortality) in 32 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. In all we analyzed Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 362,072 children under the age of five, applying complex survey design features including stratification, clustering, and sampling weights. HAP exposure was defined using quantile distribution and summarized into Household Air Pollution Index through principal component analysis, categorized as "unexposed", "moderate exposure" and "high exposure". Associations wer...