Household air pollution from wood-burning cookstoves and C-reactive protein among women in rural Honduras

Megan L. Benka-Coker, Maggie L. Clark, Sarah Rajkumar, Bonnie N. Young, Annette M. Bachand, Robert D. Brook, Tracy L. Nelson, John Volckens, Stephen J. Reynolds, Ander Wilson, Christian L'Orange, Nicholas Good, Casey Quinn, Kirsten Koehler, Sebastian Africano, Anibal B. Osorto Pinel, David Diaz-Sanchez, Lucas Neas, Jennifer L. Peel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Household air pollution from solid fuel combustion was estimated to cause 2.31 million deaths worldwide in 2019; cardiovascular disease is a substantial contributor to the global burden. We evaluated the cross-sectional association between household air pollution (24-h gravimetric kitchen and personal particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC)) and C-reactive protein (CRP) measured in dried blood spots among 107 women in rural Honduras using wood-burning traditional or Justa (an engineered combustion chamber) stoves. A suite of 6 additional markers of systemic injury and inflammation were considered in secondary analyses. We adjusted for potential confounders and assessed effect modification of several cardiovascular-disease risk factors. The median (25th, 75th percentiles) 24-h-average personal PM2.5 concentration was 115 μg/m3 (65,154 μg/m3) for traditional stove users and 52 μg/m3 (39, 81 μg/m3) for Justa stove users; kitchen PM2.5 and BC had similar patterns. Higher concentrations of PM2.5 and BC were associated with higher levels of CRP (e.g., a 25% increase in personal PM2.5 was associated with a 10.5% increase in CRP [95% CI: 1.2–20.6]). In secondary analyses, results were generally consistent with a null association. Evidence for effect modification between pollutant measures and four different cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., high blood pressure) was inconsistent. These results support the growing evidence linking household air pollution and cardiovascular disease.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number113949
JournalInternational Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
Volume241
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Biomass
  • Black carbon
  • C-Reactive protein
  • Cookstoves
  • Household air pollution
  • Particulate matter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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