Effects of a household air pollution intervention using liquefied petroleum gas stoves, continuous fuel distribution and behavioural messaging on dietary and sodium intake of adult women in Puno, Peru: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: Household air pollution (HAP) is a widespread environmental exposure worldwide. While several cleaner fuel interventions have been implemented to reduce personal exposures to HAP, it is unclear if cooking with cleaner fuels also affects the choice of meals and dietary intake.

Design: Individually randomised, open-label controlled trial of a HAP intervention.

Microbiome alterations associated with phthalate exposures in a US-based sample of Latino workers.

Low-wage service sector jobs are largely occupied by racial/ethnic minority workers who often experience an increased risk of elevated chemical exposures, including chemicals like phthalates, compared to the general public. Phthalates have been linked with adverse health effects, including increased risk of atopy and asthma. An important etiological component in respiratory disease, including asthma, is the role of the upper respiratory microbiota in atopic disease development.

Microbiome alterations from volatile organic compounds (VOC) exposures among workers in salons primarily serving women of color.

Salon workers, especially those serving an ethnically and racially diverse clientele (i.e., Black/Latina), may experience disparately high levels of workplace exposures to respiratory irritants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Household Air Pollution Concentrations after Liquefied Petroleum Gas Interventions in Rural Peru: Findings from a One-Year Randomized Controlled Trial Followed by a One-Year Pragmatic Crossover Trial.

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) from biomass fuel combustion remains a leading environmental risk factor for morbidity worldwide.

Objective: Measure the effect of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) interventions on HAP exposures in Puno, Peru.

Methods: We conducted a 1-y randomized controlled trial followed by a 1-y pragmatic crossover trial in 180 women age 25-64 y.

Phthalate biomarkers and associations with respiratory symptoms and healthcare utilization among low-income urban children with asthma.

Background: Phthalates are synthetic chemicals present in building materials, personal care products and other consumer goods. Limited studies link phthalates to pediatric asthma incidence; however, their effects on respiratory-related outcomes among those with pre-existing asthma remains unclear.

Objective: We examined associations between phthalates and asthma symptoms, healthcare use, lung function, and lung inflammation among children with asthma.

Household air pollution and blood markers of inflammation: A cross-sectional analysis.

Household air pollution (HAP) from biomass stoves is a leading risk factor for cardiopulmonary outcomes; however, its toxicity pathways and relationship with inflammation markers are poorly understood. Among 180 adult women in rural Peru, we examined the cross-sectional exposure-response relationship between biomass HAP and markers of inflammation in blood using baseline measurements from a randomized trial. We measured markers of inflammation (CRP, IL-6, IL-10, IL-1β, and TNF-α) with dried blood spots, 48-h kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures to fine particulate matter (PM ), black carbon (BC), and carbon monoxide (CO), and 48-h kitchen concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO ) in a subset of 97 participants.

Use of liquefied petroleum gas in Puno, Peru: Fuel needs under conditions of free fuel and near-exclusive use.

Reducing the burden of household air pollution could be achieved with exclusive adoption of cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). However, we lack understanding of how much LPG is required to support exclusive use and how household characteristics affect this quantity. This paper used data from 90 participants in the Cardiopulmonary outcomes and Household Air Pollution (CHAP) trial in Puno, Peru who received free LPG deliveries for one year.

Effects of a Household Air Pollution Intervention with Liquefied Petroleum Gas on Cardiopulmonary Outcomes in Peru. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Approximately 40% of people worldwide are exposed to household air pollution (HAP) from the burning of biomass fuels. Previous efforts to document health benefits of HAP mitigation have been stymied by an inability to lower emissions to target levels. We sought to determine if a household air pollution intervention with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) improved cardiopulmonary health outcomes in adult women living in a resource-poor setting in Peru.

Nitrogen dioxide exposures from LPG stoves in a cleaner-cooking intervention trial.

Background: Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves have been promoted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as a clean energy alternative to biomass burning cookstoves.

Objective: We sought to characterize kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO) within a randomized controlled trial in the Peruvian Andes. The intervention included the provision of an LPG stove and continuous fuel distribution with behavioral messaging to maximize compliance.

Exploring the impact of a liquefied petroleum gas intervention on time use in rural Peru: A mixed methods study on perceptions, use, and implications of time savings.

Background: Efforts to promote clean cooking through adoption of clean-burning fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are often based on the idea that near-exclusive use of LPG could lead to health improvements. However, benefits beyond health, such as time savings, could be more tangible and meaningful to LPG users.

Objectives: This study investigated the effect of an LPG intervention on time spent cooking and collecting fuel, using objective measures of stove temperatures combined with self-reports under conditions of near-exclusive LPG use.

Household air pollution exposure and associations with household characteristics among biomass cookstove users in Puno, Peru.

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) from combustion of biomass fuel, such as wood and animal dung, is among the leading environmental risk factors for preventable disease. Close to half of the world's population relies on biomass cookstoves for their daily cooking needs. Understanding factors that affect HAP can inform measures to maximize the effectiveness of cookstove interventions in a cost-effective manner.

Beyond cost: Exploring fuel choices and the socio-cultural dynamics of liquefied petroleum gas stove adoption in Peru.

Reducing the burden of household air pollution requires that cleaner fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) be used nearly exclusively. However, exclusive adoption has been challenging in low- and middle-income countries. Previous studies have found that economic, social, and cultural barriers often impede adoption.

Size distribution and lung-deposited doses of particulate matter from household exposure to biomass smoke.

Exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) is associated with a number of adverse health effects. However, it is unclear which aspects of PM are most hazardous, and a better understanding of particle sizes and personal exposure is needed. We characterized particle size distribution (PSD) from biomass-related pollution and assessed total and regional lung-deposited doses using multiple-path deposition modeling.

Indoor air pollution concentrations and cardiometabolic health across four diverse settings in Peru: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for health in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We measured indoor fine particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in 617 houses across four settings with varying urbanisation, altitude, and biomass cookstove use in Peru, between 2010 and 2016. We assessed the associations between indoor pollutant concentrations and blood pressure (BP), exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO), C-reactive protein (CRP), and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) using multivariable linear regression among all participants and stratifying by use of biomass cookstoves.

Nitrogen dioxide exposures from biomass cookstoves in the Peruvian Andes.

Background: Household air pollution from biomass cookstoves is a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality, yet little is known about exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO ).

Objective: To characterize NO kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures among women with biomass cookstoves in the Peruvian Andes.

Methods: We measured kitchen area NO concentrations at high-temporal resolution in 100 homes in the Peruvian Andes.

Comparison of next-generation portable pollution monitors to measure exposure to PM from household air pollution in Puno, Peru.

Assessment of personal exposure to PM is critical for understanding intervention effectiveness and exposure-response relationships in household air pollution studies. In this pilot study, we compared PM concentrations obtained from two next-generation personal exposure monitors (the Enhanced Children MicroPEM or ECM; and the Ultrasonic Personal Air Sampler or UPAS) to those obtained with a traditional Triplex Cyclone and SKC Air Pump (a gravimetric cyclone/pump sampler). We co-located cyclone/pumps with an ECM and UPAS to obtain 24-hour kitchen concentrations and personal exposure measurements.

An evaluation of the Fondo de Inclusión Social Energético program to promote access to liquefied petroleum gas in Peru.

Introduction: Over 80% of rural households in Peru use solid fuels as their primary source of domestic energy, which contributes to several health problems. In 2016, 6.7 million Peruvians were living in rural areas.

Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove intervention on pollutant exposure and adult cardiopulmonary outcomes (CHAP): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Biomass fuel smoke is a leading risk factor for the burden of disease worldwide. International campaigns are promoting the widespread adoption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in resource-limited settings. However, it is unclear if the introduction and use of LPG stoves, in settings where biomass fuels are used daily, reduces pollution concentration exposure, improves health outcomes, or how cultural and social barriers influence the exclusive adoption of LPG stoves.