Summary In 1990, household air pollution from solid fuels was the leading Level 4 risk factor for deaths among environmental and occupational risks, contributing to 4·36 million (95% UI 3·33–5·40) deaths. Deaths declined to 2·31 million (1·63–3·12) globally in 2019.

Definition Household air pollution includes exposure to particulate matter less than 2·5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) due to the use of solid fuels for cooking, including coal, charcoal, wood, agricultural residue, and animal dung.

Total sources
Exposure 1006
Relative risk 200
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •A new cross-walk analysis was developed to estimate the proportion of individuals exposed to household air pollution from estimates of the proportion of households using solid fuels for cooking.
  • •160 new sources estimating the number of individuals using solid fuels for cooking were added to the exposure model.
  • •Risk curves of the particulate matter effect on birthweight (N=45, 9 households) and gestational age (N=31, 3 households) were produced with the MR-BRT tool.
  • •New MR-BRT relative risk curves were developed for the six outcomes of particulate matter pollution previously included in GBD; in GBD 2019 these no longer included active smoking data.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
2·31 (1·63
to 3·12)
30·1 (21·3
to 40·5)
83·6 (60·8
to 108)
1145·7 (832·1
to 1483·5)
7·91 (5·25
to 11·3)
96·2 (64·0
to 137·3)
91·5 (67·0
to 119)
1241·9 (913·9
to 1598·3)
Females
1·13 (0·800
to 1·50)
27·7 (19·7
to 36·6)
38·6 (28·2
to 49·5)
1054·3 (770·4
to 1343·8)
4·63 (3·11
to 6·45)
107·2 (71·9
to 149·5)
43·2 (32·0
to 54·8)
1161·5 (859·7
to 1472·6)
Males
1·18 (0·795
to 1·66)
32·8 (22·0
to 45·9)
45·0 (32·1
to 59·2)
1238·5 (890·0
to 1624·0)
3·28 (2·09
to 4·86)
84·1 (53·6
to 124·6)
48·3 (34·5
to 63·5)
1322·6 (951·5
to 1737·4)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
–23·8% (–32·3
to –15·5)
–37·5% (–44·0
to –31·1)
–30·5% (–38·5
to –22·4)
–37·5% (–44·6
to –30·3)
–8·3% (–15·0
to –1·6)
–27·0% (–32·2
to –21·7)
–29·0% (–37·0
to –21·2)
–36·8% (–43·5
to –29·9)
Females
–20·4% (–29·4
to –11·6)
–34·9% (–41·7
to –28·0)
–28·7% (–37·0
to –19·8)
–36·1% (–43·4
to –28·3)
–6·5% (–13·3
to 0·3)
–25·5% (–30·7
to –20·2)
–26·8% (–34·9
to –18·5)
–35·2% (–42·3
to –27·8)
Males
–26·9% (–35·6
to –17·9)
–40·2% (–46·9
to –33·4)
–32·0% (–40·6
to –23·3)
–38·9% (–46·0
to –31·6)
–10·7% (–17·6
to –3·9)
–29·1% (–34·4
to –23·7)
–30·9% (–39·1
to –22·7)
–38·3% (–45·4
to –31·3)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 3rd 4th 8th 4th
2010 7th 6th 11th 7th
2019 9th 9th 14th 10th
Table 3: Rank among attributable most detailed risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019
Figure 5: Percentage of population exposed to risk factor, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 6: All-cause mortality relative risk, both sexes combined, 2019