Amod K. Pokhrel|Michael Bates|Sharat Chandra Verma|Hari Shankar Joshi|Chandrashekhar T Sreeramareddy|Kirk R. Smith
Tuberculosis and Indoor Biomass and Kerosene Use in Nepal: A Case–Control Study
University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley|Pokhara University|Manipal College of Medical Sciences|Manipal Teaching Hospital|Manipal College of Medical Sciences|Manipal Teaching Hospital|Manipal College of Medical Sciences|Manipal Teaching Hospital|University of California, Berkeley
backgroundin nepal tuberculosis tb major problem worldwide six previous epidemiologic studies investigated whether indoor cooking biomass fuel wood agricultural wastes associated tb inconsistent resultsobjectivesusing detailed information potential confounders investigated associations tb use biomass kerosene fuelsmethodsa hospitalbased casecontrol study conducted pokhara nepal cases n 125 women 2065 years old confirmed diagnosis tb agematched controls n 250 female patients without tb detailed exposure histories collected standardized questionnaireresultscompared using cleanburning fuel stove liquefied petroleum gas biogas adjusted odds ratio using biomassfuel stove 121 95 confidence interval ci 048305 whereas use kerosenefuel stove 336 95 ci 1011122 use biomass fuel heating 345 95 ci 144827 use kerosene lamps lighting 943 95 ci 1456132conclusionsthis study provides evidence use indoor biomass fuel particularly source heating associated tb women also provides first evidence using kerosene stoves wick lamps associated tb associations require confirmation studies using kerosene lamps risk factor tb would provide strong justification promoting clean lighting sources solar lamps