The impact of indoor air pollution on health outcomes and cognitive abilities: empirical evidence from China

Abstract

This paper investigates the health impact of indoor air pollution caused by household use of solid fuels for heating or cooking among middle-aged and elderly people, using data from the 2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We use a propensity score matching method to address potential confounding of variables associated with household solid fuel use and health outcomes. We find that indoor air pollution significantly increases the likelihood of being diagnosed with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases including lung disease, heart disease, and hypertension, and reporting poor health status. We also find a significant adverse impact on cognitive abilities, specifically short-term memory and mathematical reasoning. These results demonstrate that indoor air pollution poses a health threat for middle-aged and elderly people, a group that has not been studied previously in research on this topic.