Is Household Air Pollution a Risk Factor for Eye Disease?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Sheila K. West⁴  Michael N. Bates²  Jennifer S. Lee⁴  Debra A. Schaumberg¹  David J. Lee³  Heather Adair-Rohani⁵  Dong Feng Chen⁶ 

[1] John A. Moran Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt lake City, UT 84132, USA; E-Mail:;School of Public Health, Divisions of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33101, USA; E-Mail:;Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; E-Mail:;World Health Organization, Geneva CH-1211, Switzerland; E-Mail:;Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: biomass;    blindness;    cataract;    trachoma;    dry eye disease;    household air pollution;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph10115378

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In developing countries, household air pollution (HAP) resulting from the inefficient burning of coal and biomass (wood, charcoal, animal dung and crop residues) for cooking and heating has been linked to a number of negative health outcomes, mostly notably respiratory diseases and cancers. While ocular irritation has been associated with HAP, there are sparse data on adverse ocular outcomes that may result from acute and chronic exposures. We consider that there is suggestive evidence, and biological plausibility, to hypothesize that HAP is associated with some of the major blinding, and painful, eye conditions seen worldwide. Further research on this environmental risk factor for eye diseases is warranted.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.