Effects of a cookstove intervention on cardiac structure, cardiac function, and blood pressure in Western Kenya

Abstract

Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) is responsible for 2.9 million to 4.3 million deaths annually.1 The burden of HAP is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of homes rely on traditional cooking practices.2 Of the numerous potentially toxic environmental pollutants in HAP, most of the literature has focused on carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5). There is a paucity of direct evidence linking HAP and cardiovascular disease outcomes or intermediate surrogate markers in low- and middle-income countries. Few studies, including some of our own work,3 have measured the association between HAP and cardiac structure or function by echocardiography, but the results have been mixed.To address some of these gaps in knowledge, we recently introduced a cookstove that reduces household levels of CO and PM2.5, measured blood pressure (BP), and performed echocardiography to assess its impact on cardiac structure and function.