PS-P03-11: EFFECT OF CLEANER COOKING FUEL (LPG) ON CARDIOPULMONARY HEALTH IN WOMEN FROM RURAL MAHARASHTRA

Abstract

Background and Objective: Air pollution generated due to the use of solid fuels is recognized to be an environmental and health risk globally, especially in developing countries. Exposure to household air pollution is estimated to kill 3.8 million people worldwide. Major victims are women who are the immediate users. In an attempt to address this issue, the Indian government launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) which provides clean LPG cooking gas to first-time users. However, it is majorly being promoted as a scheme about providing cooking gas to those who don’t have it but the health benefits of the scheme are not being focused. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of LPG on cardiopulmonary health in women. Design and method: A total of 997 healthy women participants (808 primary cooks and 189 secondary cooks) who cooked either with biomass or with LPG were enrolled. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood glucose was measured in all study participants and data on 24-hour personal exposure to fine particulate matter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and lung function (by spirometry) were measured on a subset using a standard protocol. Socio-demographic data, cooking practices and other information were collected using a validated questionnaire. Descriptive analysis was done in SPSS v26. Results: Results highlighted that SBP, DBP, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure and glucose level were significantly higher in the biomass group compared to the LPG group in both primary and secondary cooks. The prevalence of hypertension in primary and secondary cooks was 29.5 and 33.6 respectively in biomass users compared to 21.1 and 13.4 in LPG users. Higher number of obstructive airway pattern (n = 10; 6.4% vs n = 2 1.3%), restrictive airway pattern (n = 31; 19.7 % vs n = 19; 12.5 %) and small airway obstruction (n = 55; 35.0 % vs n = 22; 14.4 %) was observed in biomass group compared to LPG group respectively. After adjusting for age, BMI and study group, it was seen that biomass exposure index (odds ratio [OR] 2.288; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.169, 4.479, P = 0.016) and PM2.5 levels (OR 1.065; 95% CI 1.035, 1.096, P < 0.001) significantly increased the odds of having hypertension. Conclusions: Based on preliminary analysis, it can be concluded that the use of biomass is significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension and impaired lung function. Thus, adoption of cleaner cooking fuels like LPG will have meaningful clinical and public health benefits.