Relationship between daily exposure to biomass fuel smoke and blood pressure in high-altitude Peru

Melissa Burroughs Peña, Karina M. Romero, Eric J. Velazquez, Victor G. Davila-Roman, Robert H. Gilman, Robert A. Wise, J. Jaime Miranda, William Checkley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Household air pollution from biomass fuel use affects 3 billion people worldwide; however, few studies have examined the relationship between biomass fuel use and blood pressure. We sought to determine if daily biomass fuel use was associated with elevated blood pressure in high altitude Peru and if this relationship was affected by lung function. We analyzed baseline information from a population-based cohort study of adults aged ≥35 years in Puno, Peru. Daily biomass fuel use was self-reported. We used multivariable regression models to examine the relationship between daily exposure to biomass fuel smoke and blood pressure outcomes. Interactions with sex and quartiles of forced vital capacity were conducted to evaluate for effect modification. Data from 1004 individuals (mean age, 55.3 years; 51.7% women) were included. We found an association between biomass fuel use with both prehypertension (adjusted relative risk ratio, 5.0; 95% confidence interval, 2.6-9.9) and hypertension (adjusted relative risk ratio, 3.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-7.0). Biomass fuel users had a higher systolic blood pressure (7.0 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, 4.4-9.6) and a higher diastolic blood pressure (5.9 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, 4.2-7.6) when compared with nonusers. We did not find interaction effects between daily biomass fuel use and sex or percent predicted forced vital capacity for either systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure. Biomass fuel use was associated with a higher likelihood of having hypertension and higher blood pressure in Peru. Reducing exposure to household air pollution from biomass fuel use represents an opportunity for cardiovascular prevention.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1134-1140
Number of pages7
JournalHypertension
Volume65
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 21 2015

Keywords

  • Latin America
  • air pollution
  • blood pressure
  • global health
  • health status disparities
  • indoor air pollution
  • rural health

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