Indoor air pollution: national burden of disease estimates
The burden of disease quantifies mortality and morbidity due to a given disease or risk factor. The most commonly used measure is the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), which combines the years of life lost due to disability with the years of life lost due to death. This measure allows to compare diseases or risk factors in terms of their public health importance.
Globally, reliance on solid fuels has emerged as one of the ten most important threats to public health. In 2000, indoor air pollution was responsible for more than 1.5 million deaths and 2.7% of the global burden of disease. The World Health Organization has assessed, for the year 2002, the burden of disease from indoor air pollution at the national level. Deaths and DALYs due to indoor air pollution are very unequally distributed.