In southeast, east, and central Asia, the epidemiological transition was already well advanced in 1990, and by 2010, high blood pressure (which is commonly associated with diets high in sodium as a prominent underlying cause94,158), tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke, and diets low in fruits were all among the five leading risk factors in these regions. The disease burden attributable to childhood underweight and sub optimal breastfeeding had been largely eliminated in east Asia by 2010, although they remain important in southeast Asia. In these three regions, despite decreases, household air pollution from solid fuels was still a leading risk factor in 2010, ranked third in south-east Asia, sixth in east Asia, and 12th in central Asia. Ambient particulate matter pollution accounted for a larger disease burden than did household air pollution in central and east Asia in 2010, although household solid fuels is an important source of ambient particulate matter pollution in these regions.
