Maternal exposure to biomass fuel and birthweight in Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria: Results from the Child Electronic Growth Monitoring System (CEGROMS)

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Despite the high burden of household air pollution from solid biomass fuel in sub-Saharan Africa, the association of prenatal biomass fuel exposure and birth weight as a continuous variable and independent of preterm birth has not been extensively studied. In this study, we aimed to determine the association of prenatal exposure to biomass fuel with birthweight analyzed as a continuous variable among term births in a Nigerian population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Child Welfare Clinic of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna (Kaduna State, Northwestern Nigeria), an urban metropolis with the country's fourth-largest population. We obtained data from the Child Electronic Growth Monitoring System (CEGROMS), a database of all women who brought their newborns to the study site for BCG vaccination and growth monitoring around the time of birth. A total of 1348 women with term births and information on birthweight, cooking fuel type, and other risk factors met the inclusion criteria. We used linear regression to estimate the adjusted associations (β and 95% confidence interval (CI)) between birthweight and biomass fuel exposure. RESULTS:Thirteen percent of mothers used biomass fuel relative to 78.5% using liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and 8.5% using kerosene. On average, infants of mothers exposed to biomass fuel were 111g lighter (95% CI −205,−18), compared with those of mothers using LPG adjusted for maternal age, education, and parity. Kerosene use resulted in a 10 g (95% CI -107; 86) reduction in mean birth weight compared to mothers using LPG. CONCLUSIONS:Maternal exposure to biomass fuel was associated with shifting of the birth weight distribution among term newborns. KEYWORDS: Biomass fuel, House air pollution, birthweight, Nigeria