Association of biomass fuel smoke with respiratory symptoms among children under 5 years of age in urban areas: results from Bangladesh Urban Health Survey, 2013.

BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding the effect of exposure to biomass fuel smoke inhalation on respiratory symptoms in the Bangladeshi population which is a major health hazard in most of the developing countries. This study aims to explore the association between respiratory symptoms and biomass fuel smoke exposure among children under 5 years of age. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Bangladesh Urban Health Survey conducted in 2013. A total of 10,575 mothers with at least one surviving children were selected. Respiratory symptoms among children under 5 years of age were considered as the primary outcome. Sequential multiple logistic regression models were used to observe the association between respiratory symptoms and biomass fuel smoke exposure adjusting the effect of residential factors and mother and child characteristics. RESULTS: Around 40% of the mothers exclusively used biomass fuel irrespective of the kitchen location and 54% of them were habituated in indoor cooking. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms of under-five children among in-house and outdoor biomass fuel users was 23.0% and 21.9%, respectively. Results of fitted multiple logistic regression models showed that the odds of having respiratory symptoms among children under 5 years of age were increased due to in-house biomass fuel use [OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.36] compared with the non-biomass user. An increased risk of respiratory symptoms was also significantly associated with mother's birth complication [OR = 1.51; 95% CI, 1.36-1.67], non-government organization (NGO) membership of mothers [OR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16-1.51], age of the child (6-23m) [OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.10-1.52], and nutritional status (stunting) [OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06-1.31]. CONCLUSION: This study found the use of in-house biomass fuel as a significant risk factor associated with respiratory symptoms of children under 5 years of age. More longitudinal studies should be designed to establish a causal relationship between HAP (household air pollution) and respiratory symptoms among children with more direct measures of HAP and clinical procedure.

Prevalence of depression among Bangladeshi village women subsequent to a natural disaster: A pilot study.

Women living in disaster-prone areas are at risk of developing and suffering from mental health problems, such as depression. However, this issue has not been studied previously among village dwelling women in Bangladesh. Improved knowledge of post-disaster depression rates and its risk factors could facilitate design and implementation of targeted disaster management protocols. Therefore, face-to-face surveys were conducted from September to October 2017 among 111 women in Dalbangha village, Bangladesh who survived cyclone Mora. Depression was assessed using the Bangla Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9) along with relevant socio-demographics and disaster-related variables. The prevalence of depression was 64.9% and 36.9% of the women failed to receive any alert prior to the disaster. Along with a wide range of post-disaster consequences, 36.0% were physically injured, 27.9% had to be absent from work with consequent income loss, and 17.1% experienced death of a family member. Lower age group (18-30 years), being an income earner, disaster-related physical injury, and post-disaster work absenteeism emerged as the risk factors associated with depressive symptoms. In light of current findings, disaster preparedness programs and management protocols should incorporate measures aimed at palliating the risk factor elements that promote depression among vulnerable women following a disaster.