Do solid fuels for cooking lead to an increased prevalence of respiratory disease? Empirical evidence from rural China

Evaluating the health effects of using solid fuels for cooking is necessary to further promote household energy transition. Although an increasing number of studies have assessed the correlations between solid fuel use and different health issues, the available evidence on the adverse impact of solid cooking fuels on the respiratory system is still limited. In this study, using nationally representative data (N = 10,944) collected by the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 383 villages and 6985 households, the association between solid cooking fuels and respiratory disease was explored. The logit model was used to identify the influencing factors of cooking fuel choice. The propensity score matching model was employed to analyze whether the use of solid fuels for cooking puts pressure on the health of the respiratory tract among middle-aged and older people in rural China. The results show that biomass energy remains the most prevalent cooking fuel type in rural China. Gender, education level, the average monthly household expense (as a proxy indicator for income), gas accessibility, cultivated land or forest land allocated from the collective agreement, and the types of household cooking appliances all significantly affect the cooking fuel choices of the respondents. The usage of solid fuels for cooking is harmful to the respiratory system of the participants. The risk of suffering from respiratory illness for those who rely on solid cooking fuels is 2 % higher than for those who depend on clean cooking fuels when all other conditions are equal. The results of this study provide empirical evidence for the formulation of government policies to accelerate the energy transition of rural households in China.