The Association between Household Air Pollution and Blood Pressure in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana

Emerging evidence suggests a possible link between exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from a reliance on polluting solid fuels (SFs) (e.g., wood and charcoal) for cooking and high blood pressure. As part of the CLEAN-Air(Africa) project, we measured the blood pressure among 350 cooks in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana after 24 h exposure to particulate matter (PM_2.5) from the combustion of either solid fuels (n = 35) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (n = 35). Multinomial regression models were used to describe the relationship between different stages of blood pressure (mmHg) and the respondents’ main fuel type used, adjusting for key covariates. A linear regression model was used to describe the relationship between personal exposure to PM_2.5 and the respondent’s systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure, adjusting for key covariates. Blood pressure was higher in cooks using SFs for cooking than in those using LPG. A significant exposure–response relationship was not observed between increasing exposure to PM_2.5 and increasing blood pressure (systolic: β = −2.42, 95% CI: −8.65, 3.80, p-value = 0.438, and diastolic: β = −0.32, 95% CI: −5.09; 4.45, p-value = 0.893).