The Association between Household Air Pollution and Blood Pressure in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana

Emerging evidence suggests a possible link between exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from a reliance on polluting solid fuels (SFs) (e.g., wood and charcoal) for cooking and high blood pressure. As part of the CLEAN-Air(Africa) project, we measured the blood pressure among 350 cooks in Obuas...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Theresa Tawiah, Matthew Shupler, Stephaney Gyaase, Rachel Anderson de Cuevas, Jason Saah, Emily Nix, Mieks Twumasi, Reginald Quansah, Elisa Puzzolo, Daniel Pope, Kwaku Poku Asante
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/12/2033
Description
Summary:Emerging evidence suggests a possible link between exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from a reliance on polluting solid fuels (SFs) (e.g., wood and charcoal) for cooking and high blood pressure. As part of the CLEAN-Air(Africa) project, we measured the blood pressure among 350 cooks in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana after 24 h exposure to particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) from the combustion of either solid fuels (<i>n</i> = 35) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (<i>n</i> = 35). Multinomial regression models were used to describe the relationship between different stages of blood pressure (mmHg) and the respondents’ main fuel type used, adjusting for key covariates. A linear regression model was used to describe the relationship between personal exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub> and the respondent’s systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure, adjusting for key covariates. Blood pressure was higher in cooks using SFs for cooking than in those using LPG. A significant exposure–response relationship was not observed between increasing exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub> and increasing blood pressure (systolic: β = −2.42, 95% CI: −8.65, 3.80, <i>p</i>-value = 0.438, and diastolic: β = −0.32, 95% CI: −5.09; 4.45, <i>p</i>-value = 0.893).
ISSN:2073-4433