What is the (particulate) matter with biomass fuel use? Indoor air toxicants and central haemodynamic burden

Association of using biomass fuel for cooking with depression and anxiety symptoms in older Chinese adults

BACKGROUNDS

Household air pollution exposure is a crucial public concern and have the potential to seriously affect human health. Using biomass fuels for cooking is the main contributor to household air pollution. However, current evidence linked between cooking with biomass fuels and mental health remains limited.

OBJECTIVES

To explore whether cooking with biomass fuels is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms among older adults in China.

METHODS

We obtained data from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), respectively. Primary cooking fuel type was self-reported. We used logistic regression and linear regression to evaluate the effects of cooking with biomass fuels on depression and anxiety.

RESULTS

A total of 13,361 participants aged 65 years and older (mean age, 84.2 ± 11.5 years) were included in the presented study. A positive association was found between cooking with biomass fuels and both depression symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.23, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.47) and anxiety symptoms (adjusted odds ratio 1.31, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.68). Biomass fuel users had a higher depression scores (0.33, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.61) and a higher anxiety scores (0.20, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.38) compared to clean fuel users. We found no significant interactions between participant characteristics and biomass fuel use on either depression or anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Cooking with biomass fuels was associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in order adults. Further large prospective cohort studies are warranted to confirm this association.

Association between biomass fuel use and risk of hypertension among Chinese older people: A cohort study

BACKGROUNDS

Previous studies linking biomass fuel use to hypertension have been inconsistent. We investigated the association between biomass fuel use and the risk of hypertension and blood pressure measures in older Chinese people.

METHODS

The prospective cohort study of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) included participants aged 65 years and older in 2011/2012 who were followed up until 2014 in 23 provinces in China. We explored the association between biomass fuel use and hypertension using the Cox proportional hazards model and examined the relationship of biomass fuel use with blood pressure measures using the generalized estimating equation. Additionally, we examined the effect of switching cooking fuels on hypertension during the follow-up.

RESULTS

Among 3754 participants who were without hypertension at baseline, the mean age was 86 years old, and 47.5% of participants were men. Reported use of biomass fuel for cooking (50.2%) was associated with a higher risk of hypertension (incidence rate (IR) per 100 person-years: 13.15 versus 12.99, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.31). Biomass fuel use was related to systolic blood pressure (SBP) (β 1.10 mmHg, 95% CI: 0.48-1.72), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (β 1.02 mmHg, 95% CI: 0.61-1.43) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (β 1.03 mmHg, 95% CI: 0.63-1.43) elevation. Compared with persistent clean fuel users, participants who reported switching from clean to biomass fuels for cooking had a noticeably higher risk of hypertension (IR per 100 person-years: 14.27 versus 12.81, HR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.16-1.90) and higher SBP (3.71 mmHg), DBP (2.44 mmHg) and MAP (2.86 mmHg). Interaction and stratified analyses showed greater effect estimates of SBP and MAP in the oldest oldpeople (≥85).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of biomass fuel for cooking was associated with greater hypertension risk, and the risk may be higher among those who switched from clean fuels to biomass fuels in the Chinese elderly population. Biomass fuel use was associated with a statistically significant but small absolute increase in blood pressure measures.