Indoor Air Pollution and Health: Bridging Perspectives from Developing and Developed Countries

Abstract

Much of the global population spends most of their time indoors; however, air pollution measurement, a proxy of exposure, occurs primarily outdoors. This fundamental disconnect between where the people are and where the measurements are made likely leads to misestimation of the true burden of air pollution on human health, which is already substantial, with exposure leading to approximately 6.7 million deaths yearly. In this review, we describe the two disparate but linked fields commonly referred to as indoor air pollution and household air pollution. Both fields focus on the measurement and characterization of exposures and subsequent health effects that occur primarily in the indoor environment. The former tends to focus on issues in the developed world, whereas the latter focuses on issues in low- and middle-income countries reliant on solid fuels, like wood, dung, coal, and crop residues, for basic household energy needs. Both lead to substantial exposures to air pollutants that are damaging to human health. We describe and contrast both contexts and provide potential topics for conversation between the disciplines.