Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Biomass for Cooking and Effects on Birth Weight

Abstract

(N Engl J Med. 2022;387:1735–1746) Over the past few decades, 3 billion people continue to use open fires and traditional stoves to cook with using solid biomass fuels (biomass) like charcoal and wood. The resulting air pollution within the home is a concerning health risk for low- to middle-income populations and leads to millions of premature deaths and adverse health outcomes, including lower birth weight neonates. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstoves have been shown to decrease air pollution and associated health risks. This study aimed to determine whether replacing biomass cookstoves with LPG cookstoves impacts birth weight.