Chinese Rural Areas Research Articles

CONSTRUCTION BASED ON MAN-MACHINE COLLABORATION - A CASE STUDY OF A BAMBOO PAVILION

With the development of advanced digital design approaches and mechanical facilities, architectural intelligence liberates conventional construction from conventional paradigms. Computational design and digital fabrication have achieved progress in space innovation, construction efficiency, and material effectiveness. However, those high-tech manufacturing techniques are not widely available in developing countries, where the locals used to carry construction experience from age to age in a nonacademic way. This study explored a collaborative workflow of complex structural design and machine-aided construction in Chinese rural areas. First, we designed a bamboo pavilion parametrically in an irregular site on a hill. Second, its primary structure was optimized based on determining critical load and earthquake resistance to meet local building codes. Then, before material processing, every bamboo component was numbered by algorithm, with its location and morphological data of length and radian calculated accurately on the construction drawings. In the transitional process from the conventional paradigm by experience towards man-machine collaboration, local workers' manual techniques helped minimize construction errors and improve details, which were not adequately predicted and considered beforehand. This study case suggested that respective advantages of both traditional and digital modes should be integrated and balanced based on collaboration between local construction workers and professional researchers, especially as a social role for future vernacular architecture practice.

Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey

The Chinese government has emphasised the role of vocational education and training (VET) in promoting the rural economy. Since 2018, the government has invested heavily in setting up secondary vocational schools, training centres, specialised programmes, and courses in rural areas. This paper aimed to explore whether VET at the upper-secondary level leads to better labour market outcomes than academic education in Chinese rural areas. We also aimed to quantitively investigate the social prestige of vocational and academic education among rural residents by comparing the subjective social status level of those who graduated from upper-secondary vocational schools and general academic schools. We drew data from the China Labour-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS). A binary logit model and multinomial logit model were used in this research. The results showed that rural upper-secondary vocational graduates had an advantage over general graduates in terms of their income and employment stability. However, VET led to lower subjective social status when compared with general education. This study demonstrated that although promoting VET in rural areas could potentially benefit rural residents financially, cultural change is needed to ensure the elevation of the standing of vocational education and promote the worthiness, effectiveness, and capabilities that vocational graduates possess.

Control performance of bioretention system on non-point source pollution in typical Chinese rural areas of Southeastern China

Current work focused on analysis and implementation and of bioretention system in typical rural areas in Southeastern China. These areas are vigorously protected by the Chinese government due to their traditional farming and architectural characteristics that symbolize ancient Chinese civilization. Bioretention system with high pollutant removal capacity and strong environment adaptability might be a suitable technical solution for controlling non-point source pollution in ancient Chinese villages. In lab-scale study, the hydraulic characteristics of the media and the impacts of depth of media layer, depth of saturated zone (SZ), vegetation and extra carbon source (ECS) on pollutant removal efficiency of bioretention system against the current situation of NSP in typical Chinese rural areas (TCRA) were investigated. The results revealed that roots were conducive to maintain the hydraulic conductivity and pollutant removal efficiency of the filter media. The increasing depth of media layer and SZ, vegetation, and ECS could improve pollutant controlling performance of bioretention system. A field-scale bioretention system with optimal configuration determined by lab-scale study was implemented on the site. The average removal rates of TSS, COD, TN and TP of the bioretention system in field study were 81.34%, 41.88%, 37.33% and 71.64%, respectively. Bioretention system could combine with nearby farmland in rural areas without disturbing their original texture, furthermore, proper maintenance and replacement of media and vegetation could significantly improve the performance of bioretention system in TCRAs.

Measuring and Evaluating the Commodification of Sustainable Rural Living Areas in Zhejiang, China

This study aims to construct an evaluation index system to measure the commodification of living space in Chinese rural areas and investigate the spatial characteristics of the commodification. Based on the dataset collected from public institutions in Zhejiang province, this study applies the entropy method to calculate the weights of the evaluation indicators and the commodification level. The results reveal that overall commodification levels of rural spaces in Zhejiang Province are different from each other due to different levels of economic development, transportation, tourism resources, and government support. In addition, this study suggests appropriate commodification strategies corresponding to the commodification development potential of the four types of rural living spaces (i.e., advanced development areas, promotion development areas, transformation development areas, and potential development areas). This study provides an evaluation index system measuring the commodification of rural living places and guidelines for effectively developing commodification of rural places.

Spatial and temporal characteristics of rural livability and its influencing factors: implications for the development of rural revitalization strategy.

Building livable rural regions is a key objective of China's rural revitalization, and fostering coordinated and sustainable regional development in China necessitates investigating the geographical and temporal distribution and influencing variables of livability in China's rural areas. This paper compares the concept and connotation of rural livability based on regional economic development theory and sustainable development theory, integrates China's rural revitalization strategy, proposes an index system for evaluating rural livability in China, and conducts an empirical analysis of livable rural areas. Firstly, the level of rural livability development is measured by the entropy method; secondly, the aggregation effect of provinces is demonstrated by using the Moran I index, and finally, the spatial Durbin model is used to explore the influencing factors of rural livability and its spatial spillover effects. Findings of our study reveal that the results of the entropy method indicate that the livability of rural China is in a growing development trend in all provinces, but the livability shows some regional disparities. The Moran index reveals that there are obvious spatial autocorrelations in the livability of Chinese rural areas, and the most typical features are the "high" and "low" clusters. The spatial Durbin model suggests that the influences on the development of rural livability are diverse. Besides, other variables such as environmental pollution and per capita housing area show a negative association with rural livability, and investment in fixed assets, cultural atmosphere and medical health show a positive relationship with rural livability. Based on the study findings, it is proposed that in the rural revitalization strategy process, the formulation of monitoring system should be strengthened and intensify the promotion of coordinated inter-regional development.

Quality of life among family caregivers of people with schizophrenia in rural China.

To investigate quality of life (QoL) of family caregivers of people with schizophrenia and examine the influencing factors of the QoL in a Chinese rural area. This study included people with schizophrenia (n = 269) and their family caregivers (n = 269) from Xinjin district, Chengdu, China. Family caregivers' QoL was measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Form and its influencing factors was analyzed by the multivariate regression. Family caregivers of people with schizophrenia had very poor QoL across four domains. The regression analysis showed that physical domain of QoL was significantly associated with age, psychiatric symptoms of people with schizophrenia, and caregiving burden of family caregivers (p < 0.05). Psychological domain of QoL was significantly related to family caregivers' affiliate stigma, caregiving burden, and psychiatric symptoms of people with schizophrenia (p < 0.05). Social domain of QoL was significantly associated with age and psychiatric symptoms of people with schizophrenia, and affiliate stigma of family caregivers (p < 0.05). Environmental domain of QoL was significantly related to age and psychiatric symptoms of people with schizophrenia, and family caregivers' caregiving burden (p < 0.05). Family caregivers of people with schizophrenia had poor QoL in rural China. Family caregivers' QoL is significantly impacted by age and psychiatric symptoms of people with schizophrenia, caregivers' affiliate stigma and caregiving burden. Providing social support and psychosocial interventions for family caregivers of people with schizophrenia might be crucial to improve their QoL and caregiving.

Rural system sustainability evaluation based on emergy analysis: An empirical study of 321 villages in China

The deterioration of the rural ecosystem, the poverty of population, and the low well-being of farmers have brought great challenges to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Assessing the current situation of rural sustainable development and identifying limiting factors are critical to sustainable development of rural areas. This study evaluates rural sustainability of 321 villages in China based on emergy analysis. Then, random forest has been employed to determine the limiting factors of villages with different sustainable development levels. The results show that the current level of sustainable development in Chinese rural areas is relatively low (from 0.0040 to 9.5468), showing the trend of gradual increase in rural sustainability from the east to the west. There is a trade-off relationship between social-economic development and the ecological environment, resulting from only 32% of villages are high Emergy Yield Rate and low Environmental Loading Ratio. High-sustainability villages are rich in natural resources and higher metabolic efficiency but poor in people's living, indicating that the natural capital needs to be excavated to improve economic levels and social well-being in the future. Low-sustainability villages have better human well-being due to faster economic development, but unbalanced external inputs and outputs result in low metabolic efficiency and high environmental pressure. Precipitation, agricultural materials input, and people living consumption are the main driving factors for rural sustainability. It is suggested to introduce effective policies to increase economic measures and human well-being for high-sustainability villages, and appropriately decrease external purchasing such as fertilizer and pesticides for low-sustainability villages to make progress in rural sustainable development and Chinese Rural Revitalization.

Constructed wetlands as hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens: Evidence from metagenomic analysis in Chinese rural areas

In rural China, many constructed wetlands (CWs) have been developed to treat rural wastewater sustainably. However, due to the scarce information on those rural CWs, it is difficult to analyze the biological contaminants within those systems, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens. Based on the data collected from two pilot-scale, one-year-observed CWs, for the first time, this study explored the accumulation of ARGs and pathogens using the metagenomic sequencing approach and SourceTracker analysis under different hydraulic loading rates. The Shannon index of ARGs in the effluent surpassed the level found in the influent. The DESeq2 analysis showed that up to 21.49% of the total pathogen species had increased relative abundance in the effluent compared with the influent. By combining the contribution of substrate and rhizosphere, the CW became a more influencing factor for ARGs and pathogens contamination than the influent. The network analysis revealed a critical but latent fact that the development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens is highly likely to be triggered by the co-occurrence of ARGs and pathogens. Collectively, from the aspect of biological risk, our study showed that CWs alone might not be an ideal solution for improving wastewater treatment in rural China.

ACHRA: A novel model to study the propagation of clean heating acceptance among rural residents based on social networks

Encouraging rural residents to adopt clean heating is an inevitable demand necessitated by the consolidation and improvement of air pollution control effects. In present-day China, clean heating is mainly promoted by the government via fiscal subsidies, but rarely embraced by rural residents on their own initiatives. As clean heating information propagated by social networks greatly affects the acceptance of clean heating among rural residents, social networks have great potential in promoting clean heating in Chinese rural areas. Relying on the relationships between rural residents in a typical village, a novel model called ACHRA is constructed propagating the acceptance of clean heating in this paper. Further, the propagation paths of clean heating information and the mutual influence between rural residents are simulated. The results indicate that the initial acceptance attitude of rural residents and the weight of influence between them affect the overall developmental trend of the acceptance of clean heating in social networks. For networks with low centralization, it is necessary to widely publicize the benefits of clean heating to fully utilize the group effects. For networks with medium centralization, core nodes in the social network should be particularly guided to maximize their influence on the propagation of clean heating acceptance. On this basis, it is suggested that publicity and guidance about clean heating should be brought into full play in Chinese rural areas. Inspiring village cadres and influential residents to pass on positive clean heating information to other residents should be paid special attention to.

Nexus between energy poverty and sustainable energy technologies: A roadmap towards environmental sustainability

China has endured severe energy crises due to massive population and fast industrialization. Traditional energy sources cannot fulfill the country's current energy requirements. Low–income people are stereotypically portrayed as gathering firewood and relying on dirty energy sources to satisfy their domestic demands. Consequently, people in states with the most significant prevalence of energy poverty have been given a high priority in this study. In the rural areas of Shandong province, structured interviews were conducted with respondents on different energy aspects. Study results indicate that energy poverty in rural regions subjected inhabitants to various challenges, including health risks, time poverty, financial hardship, and others. Consequently, alternate energy sources must be explored and deployed in the country. In this vein, we identify the best renewable energy option for rural China. The findings indicate that solar energy is China's top source of renewable energy in terms of cost, life span, administration, and maintenance expenses. As a step further, the primary barriers that lead to energy poverty are also recognized. The research concludes with policy recommendations to relieve energy poverty in Chinese rural areas.

Is first pregnancy age associated with hypertension in the Chinese rural women population?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between first pregnancy age and hypertension later in the life of women from Chinese rural areas. In total, 13,493 women were enrolled in the Henan Rural Cohort study. Logistic regression and linear regression were used to evaluate the association between first pregnancy age and hypertension and blood pressure indicators [including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP)]. The restricted cubic spline was used to examine the dose-response relationship between the first pregnancy age and hypertension or blood pressure indicators. After adjusting for potential confounders, each 1-year increase in first pregnancy age was associated with a 0.221 mmHg increase in SBP values, a 0.153 mmHg increase in DBP values, and a 0.176 mmHg decrease in MAP values (all P < 0.05). The β of SBP, DBP, and MAP showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with increasing first pregnancy age and there was no statistical significance after first pregnancy age beyond 33 years on SBP, DBP, and MAP, respectively. A 1-year increment in first pregnancy age was associated with a 2.9% [OR (95% CI): 1.029 (1.010, 1.048)] higher odds of prevalent hypertension. The odds of hypertension increased sharply and then eventually leveled off with an increment of first pregnancy age after adjusting for potential confounders. First pregnancy age might increase the risk of hypertension later in life and might be an independent risk factor for hypertension in women.

High Incidence and Mortality Diseases Control is more Imperative Apart from COVID-19 in China

Objective: In order to enhance the health level, treat and cure well all the diseases, especially the high incidence and mortality diseases. So as to save the life and promote the quality of life. The research has been done to find the facts that that much more death caused diseases apart from the COVID-19 have been killing the people even worse at the COVID-19 pandemic time. Methods: Summarized the data extracted from three public official internets, the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the WHO and the International Diabetes Federation. Found out the health problems and health influenced diseases data apart from the COVID-19 in China. And analysing the data and facts. Results: Based on the three channels of official internet, check and look up the valuable data, find out the demanded data and reorganize, build new tables. So the concrete facts to show the critical Chinese health problems apart from COVID-19 have been found. The 12 tables have been created and found that in China, the leading causes of death are Cardiovascular diseases, Malignant neoplasms, Respiratory diseases, Diabetes mellitus, injuries. The diseases have not been prevented and cured. The total death in China has been being more and more. The communicable diseases of Viral Hepatitis and Pulmonary Tuberculosis have been being the No.1 and No.2 incidences in Chinese communicable infections. The mortality of Heart Diseases in Chinese rural areas has been being in fast trend of heavier and heavier, from 87.10 in 2008 to 171.36 in 2020 and in recent three years the No. 1 killer in Chinese rural areas. The explosively developed incidence of diabetes mellitus from the year 2000 in 22564.80 cases (in 1000s) exploded into 90045.10 cases (in 1000s) at 2011, and much too more cases developed up to now. Conclusion: In China, much more works must be done to control the leading causes of death, the diseases incidence and prevalence undermining health, including the Cardiovascular diseases, Malignant neoplasms, Respiratory diseases, Diabetes mellitus, injuries apart from COVID-19, especially the heart diseases in Chinese rural areas has been being the No. 1 killer in recent three years. The communicable diseases of Viral Hepatitis and Pulmonary Tuberculosis must be controlled and prevented. The urgently needed actions to control the leading causes of death, incidence and prevalence apart from COVID-19 in China may be referenced by other countries and international health organizations.

Emergy evaluation of biogas production system in China from perspective of collection radius

Biogas production has become one of the main renewable energy utilization modes in Chinese rural areas. In this study, emergy theory was employed to assess the ecological sustainability of biogas production system based on the case of Weilai energy company. Emergy radius formulas derived from biogas production characteristics were constructed to illustrate the relationship between the degree of system development and biomass supply distance. The calculated emergy results showed that the biogas production system required an average of 1.98 E+14sej emergy inputs in the process of utilizing one-ton agricultural waste. And the emergy indicators implied that the system had a low degree of social resource input and environmental loading, indicating that the system could keep high output efficiency and ecological sustainability. The biomass recycling distance (9.93 km) which was calculated from emergy radius demonstrated better ecological performance and higher waste utilization degree than that of economic recycling distance (7.57 km). Biomass recycling distance based on emergy theory would provide a comprehensive understanding for the biogas production development.

Influence factors for upper respiratory tract infection in Chinese rural children: Across-sectional study.

The prevalence rate of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is high in children. Influencing factors for URTI have been reported in Chinese urban children, but those have not been explored in rural children. In China, children in the rural areas are a disadvantaged group. Therefore, this study aims to explore influencing factors for URTI in Chinese rural children. This is a cross-sectional study based on the 1991-2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). In total, 5,289 children were eligible for the analysis, including 3,684 rural children and 1,605 urban children. The generalized estimating equation was used to determine the influencing factors, and results were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The results showed that rural children aged 7-12 and 13-17years had lower odds of URTI than those aged 0-1year, with OR value of 0.17 (95% CI, 0.11-0.27) and 0.12 (95% CI, 0.08-0.19), respectively. Compared with uneducated mothers, those with education level of primary school (OR: 0.59, 95% CI, 0.42-0.84), lower middle school (OR: 0.53, 95% CI, 0.38-0.73), and upper middle school and technical school (OR: 0.62, 95% CI, 0.40-0.95) were associated with the lower odds of URTI in rural children. Children, whose mothers were office workers, had 46% lower odds of URTI than those with farmer mothers (OR: 0.54, 95% CI, 0.34-0.84). This study found that mother's education level, children's age, and mother's occupation were significant influencing factors for URTI, which suggested the importance to improve mother's health-related knowledge and working conditions in Chinese rural areas.

Occurrence and profile characteristics of environmental phenols in human urine from a rural area in Northwestern China

Many environmental phenols, such as bisphenols, benzophenones and parabens, are known as endocrine disruptors and can adversely affect human health. However, the knowledge of human exposure to common environmental phenols in Chinese rural areas is insufficient. In this context, 181 urine samples were collected from participants in a rural area in Northwest China and were analyzed for nine bisphenols, three benzophenones and four parabens. Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S, benzophenone-1 (BP-1), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 4-hydroxybenzophenone, methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben and propylparaben (PrP) were detected in more than 50% of the urine samples, with median concentrations of 0.938 ng/mL, 0.0111 ng/mL, 0.191 ng/mL, 1.30 ng/mL, 0.0320 ng/mL, 25.9 ng/mL, 4.31 ng/mL and 1.94 ng/mL, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between BP-1 and BP-3, as well as between MeP and PrP, indicating metabolic transformation and combined use, respectively. The concentrations of MeP and PrP in females were significantly higher than those in males, suggesting that females were exposed to more MeP and PrP than males. Urinary concentrations of BPA, BP-3, MeP and PrP could be influenced by age. Other demographic information, such as annual household income, education and occupation was not associated with the exposure level of the targeted phenols in adults. The estimated daily intakes of the analytes except BPA were all below their respective tolerable/acceptable daily intake levels. This study profiles the demographic differences in the exposure to environmental phenols in general populations from rural areas and provides information on risk assessments.

The quality enhancement of action research on primary school English instruction in Chinese rural areas: An analysis based on multimodality.

This study investigates the influences of action research on primary school English instruction from five dimensions in the classroom, viz., types of questions, language errors, gestures, facial expressions, and interpersonal distance. Four English teachers’ 9 real classroom teaching videos before and after action research are collected and annotated by using ELAN software. The results show that primary school English teachers in Chinese rural areas prefer closed questions to open questions; They make some language errors; Deictic gestures are the most common gestures used, while metaphoric gestures, beat gestures and iconic gestures are rare; Teachers have the same preference for three types of facial expressions, and teachers’ serious expressions accounts for most of the time; They seldom keep an intimate distance or personal distance from their students. Second, Action research is effective to motivate teachers in rural areas, who make great progress in all five dimensions after AR: more open questions are asked; pragmatic errors and grammatical errors are reduced; deictic gestures increase; apathetic decrease, and more intimate distance is exhibited in the interpersonal distance dimension. Third, teacher’s English teaching competence is partly transferrable to her future professional development, and this is also the long-lasting effect of AR.

Content, Contemporary Situation and Major Effectiveness of Rural Complex Sustainable-Development-Models (SDM) From the Perspective of New Pastoralism—Based on Rural Complex Models “TianYuanLuJia, Zhejiang” and etc.

China is currently in a critical period of consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization. As an emerging pattern of rural economic development in China, Rural Complex is getting more and more attention. Some regions have already formed their own development models and many successful cases have emerged. Based on the sustainable development proposition of New Pastoralism, this study analyzes the characteristic development models of three successful state-level Rural Complex cases. On the basis, this paper summarizes the universal features from the characteristics. It finally proposes a Rural Complex Sustainable-Development-Model (SDM) which is "Multiple Integration and Construction of Industries— Simultaneous Protection and Development of Environment— Joint Effort and Sharing of People". This paper provides useful references and policy suggestions for the sustainable development of Chinese rural areas in the new era.

Alcohol Consumption and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Mendelian Randomization Study from Rural China.

Alcohol consumption has been associated with the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in observational studies. The result is inconsistent and whether the association is causal remains unknown. To examine the causal effect of alcohol consumption on MCI in rural China, this study used a cross-sectional dataset that included 1966 observations collected in rural China, of which 235 observations’ genotyping were collected. All participants accepted the MCI evaluation using Mini-Cog and were asked about the participants’ alcohol consumption behavior. The causal effect of alcohol consumption on MCI was investigated by Mendelian randomization (MR) of genetic variation in the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2 rs671) gene. The risk of MCI in Chinese rural areas was 43%. Alcohol consumption was causally associated with a higher risk of MCI under MR design. Parameter estimates of drinking or not (b = 0.271, p = 0.007, 95% CI = 0.073 to 0.469), drinking frequency during the past 30 days (b = 0.016, p = 0.003, 95% CI = 0.005 to 0.027), and the weekly ethanol consumption (b = 0.132, p = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.042 to 0.223) were all positive and statistically significant at the 5% level. In conclusion, there was a high risk of MCI in rural China, and alcohol consumption was causally associated with a higher risk of MCI.

Barriers and opportunities for bioenergy expansion in Chinese rural areas

Bioenergy can contribute to the development of a more sustainable environmental friendly alternative in rural areas in China. The perceptions, preferences and awareness concerning bioenergy among farmers are assessed in a systematic study of 594 Chinese farmers in 33 towns in the province of Shaanxi, using a generalized mixed model approach. In addition to the farmer's background and socio-economic variables, the spatial variation in the perceptions is addressed by mapping the residual between-county variation. The overall awareness of bioenergy as a viable alternative is still low (N = 80). Education and preferences on centralized heating systems play the most important role to explain the willingness to use biomass for domestic use or bioenergy from power plants. Users of large amounts of coal and electricity for heating increase the willingness to pay for bioenergy; users of firewood and raw residues are less prone to change their current energy uses. Nearly 75 % of farmers see bioenergy as a promising alternative to current consumption and production patterns of energy. The results show that not only the farmer's profile but the local context concerning energy mix, land uses and socio-economic factors are influencing their views, presenting defined spatial patterns and reflecting local geographies. Over one-third of respondents provide spontaneous recommendations to develop bioenergy markets. The results contribute to a better understanding of farmers' motivations, perceptions and views concerning energy uses, and can be used as an empirical basis for local energy planning towards a more sustainable energy transition in rural areas.

Passive Smoking Is Associated with Multiple Heavy Metal Concentrations among Housewives in Shanxi Province, China.

Background: Passive smoking may increase the content of heavy metals in housewives. However, this association remains a subject of debate. Female passive smoking is widespread, particularly in Chinese rural areas. Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between heavy metal accumulation and passive smoking status among rural housewives. Methods: 405 women were recruited in Shanxi Province of Northern China, and 384 (94.8%, 384/405) participants were included in the final study, of whom 117 women were exposed to passive smoking. The information on their basic characteristics was collected via a structured questionnaire. We used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to analyze the concentrations of nine heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), germanium (Ge), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), and chromium (Cr), in hair samples. Results: The results indicated that higher As, Ge, Ti, and Fe concentrations were significantly associated with passive smoking. After adjusting for potential confounders, the adjusted odds ratios and the 95% confidence intervals of As, Ge, Ti, and Fe were (1.80 (1.13–2.90), p = 0.028), (1.78 (1.14–2.80), p = 0.007), (1.70 (1.09–2.67), p = 0.019), and (1.67 (1.07–2.63), p = 0.035), respectively. The statistically significant linear trend of the adjusted odds ratios at different levels further supported their association. Conclusion: Our research concluded that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke might contribute to As, Ge, Ti, and Fe accumulation among housewives.