the Chronic Respiratory Effects of Early Childhood Exposure to Respirable Particulate Matter

Indoors and Respiratory Effects (RESPIRE), the first randomized trial in air pollution history that compared respiratory health effects of traditional woodfire open stoves (control group) to improved plancha chimney stoves (intervention group). RESPIRE was conducted on women and children of the local population from October 2002 through December 2004 and their health was monitored in frequent intervals over this time. A range of health conditions including increased incidence of severe pneumonia in children were found to be associated with the open fire stoves in the control group. In addition to the health data, meteorological data was also recorded to assist in developing the health risk models associated with indoor air pollution. Seasonal weather profiles were subsequently established from this meteorological data in conjunction with local partners. The exact locations of all houses in the study were also collected to capture the variety of altitudes and terrain features in the region. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate the climate and topographic data independently of RESPIRE and look for general health associations. The results of this analysis could provide insight into some of the health outcomes detected among the RESPIRE children and might identify new areas of research to be pursued during the follow-up cohort study currently being monitored b