Household air pollution: a call for studies into biomarkers of exposure and predictors of respiratory disease
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Household air pollution (HAP) from indoor burning of biomass or coal is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, mostly due to its association with acute respiratory infection in children and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adults. Interventions that have significantly reduced exposure to HAP improve health outcomes and may reduce mortality. However, we lack robust, specific, and field-ready biomarkers to identify populations at greatest risk and to monitor the effectiveness of interventions. New scientific approaches are urgently needed to develop biomarkers of human exposure that accurately reflect exposure or effect. In this Perspective, we describe the global need for such biomarkers, the aims of biomarker development, and the state of development of tests that have the potential for rapid transition from laboratory bench to field use.
Institutions: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool, University of Georgia, University of California, San Francisco, University of California, Berkeley, Georgetown University, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2144855269