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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Oladipo IdowuORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Charcoal production and utilisation are linked to various health issues and occupational hazards. However, to our knowledge, no systematic review has primarily focused on the health implications of charcoal production and its use while distinguishing charcoal from other solid fuels such as wood and coal. Objectives This systematic review presents a synthesis of the evidence on the health risks associated with producing and using charcoal across the world. Design Systematic review using a systematic narrative synthesis approach. Data sources MEDLINE (through Ovid interface), CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and SCOPUS, from inception to 26 February 2021. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Peer-reviewed journal articles reporting empirical findings on the associations between charcoal usage/production and health parameters. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of primary studies. Results Our findings showed that charcoal production and usage are linked with specific adverse health outcomes, including respiratory diseases (n=21), cardiorespiratory and neurological diseases (n=1), cancer (n=3), DNA damage (n=3), carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning (n=2), physical injury (n=2), sick house syndrome (n=1), unintentional weight loss and body mass index (BMI) reduction (n=2), increase in blood pressure (n=1) and CO death (n=1). Among the included articles that reported respiratory diseases (n=21), there was one case of asthma and tuberculosis and two cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Conclusions This review links charcoal production/usage and some associated human health risks. These include respiratory diseases and other non-respiratory illnesses such as sick-building syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, DNA damage, CO poisoning and death, unintentional weight loss and BMI reduction, and physical injuries.
Author(s): Idowu OS, De Azevedo LB, Zohoori FV, Kanmodi K, Pak T
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BMJ Open
Year: 2023
Volume: 13
Issue: 7
Print publication date: 01/07/2023
Online publication date: 24/07/2023
Acceptance date: 19/06/2023
Date deposited: 06/09/2023
ISSN (electronic): 2044-6055
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065914
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065914
PubMed id: 37487686
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