Household Fuels for Cooking and Allergies of Preschool Children in Tianjin, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Gas, coal and biomass fuels are the dominant energy fuels for cooking in China. Exposure to the smoke released from gas, coal and biomass fuels contributes to respiratory diseases in childhood. To identify the association between asthma and allergy and cooking fuels at homes in China, an epidemiological questionnaire study on the home environment and children's health was launched in Tianjin in 2013. Data for 7,865 children and homes are included in the study. The prevalence rate of diagnosed asthma, diagnosed pneumonia, diagnosed eczema, and diagnosed rhinitis among children was 4.5%, 27.9%, 38.6%and 19.6% respectively. Coal fuels used for daily cooking did have a significantly increased likelihood of asthma-related symptoms, doctor-diagnosed pneumonia and rhinitis ever. Children in families that used gas fuel for daily cooking had more pneumonia. Biomass/wood fuel was associated with a reduced risk for rhinitis.