The rising air pollution in India is now a global concern. But we seem to be ignoring what’s right in front of us. Its effect on people’s health. According to a study, indoor air pollution in India is associated with an increased risk of hypertension among women.
The research was carried out by a team in Barcelona Institute of Global Health in Spain. The team studied the association in India, where much like air pollution, cases of hypertension are rising as well.
The study results show that women who are exposed to high levels of air pollution in homes or other indoor areas have a higher risk of getting hypertension.
The study was published in the journal Epidemiology. It studied 553i adults from 28 peri-urban villages near the city of Hyderabad.
In men, the association observed was weaker, researchers said.
“Women spend most of their time near their households in this study area — 83 percent of their daily time as compared to 57 percent for men, which could explain why we observe a stronger association in women than in men,” said Ariadna Curto, first author of the study.
The study indicates that long-term exposure to particulate matter is associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension, regardless of the type of fuel used for cooking.
“Other studies have found that women that cook with solid fuels such as biomass tend to have a higher blood pressure than those using clean fuels, although our data is not powered enough to support this,” Curto said.
“Our study suggests that the effects of outdoor air pollution on cardiovascular health may be independent of those of indoor air pollution,” she said.
“In the light of our lack of association with black carbon, it is important to keep in mind that this is a peri-urban area, where the sources and chemical makeup of air pollution differ to urban areas mostly dominated by traffic sources,” Curto said.
Cathryn Tonne, the study coordinator, said that the mechanisms by which air pollution could contribute to high blood pressure “include inflammation and oxidative stress, which may lead to changes in arterial function.”
