CGPH FACULTY: Kirk R Smith
DATE OF PUBLICATION: March 2015
REGION: Global
REFERENCE: Bruce N, Dherani M, Liu R, Hosgood HD 3rd, Sapkota A, Smith KR, Straif K, Lan Q, Pope D. Does household use of biomass fuel cause lung cancer? A systematic review and evaluation of the evidence for the GBD 2010 study. Thorax. 2015 Mar 10. pii: thoraxjnl-2014-206625. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2014-206625.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Around 2.4 billion people use traditional biomass fuels for household cooking or heating. In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded emissions from household coal combustion are a Group 1 carcinogen, while those from biomass were categorised as 2A due to epidemiologic limitations. This review updates the epidemiologic evidence and provides risk estimates for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study. Exposure-response evidence was seen for men, and higher risk for women in developing compared with developed countries, consistent with higher exposures in the former. There is now stronger evidence for biomass fuel use causing lung cancer, but future studies need better exposure assessment to strengthen exposure-response evidence.
ACCESS: Link to Pubmed