An estimated two billion people in the developing world heat and cook with a biomass fuel such as wood,
but the practice exposes people — especially women — to large doses of small-particle air pollution, which can cause premature death and lung disease.
In a study just published online in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have associated indoor air pollution with increased blood pressure among older women.
In a remote area of Yunnan Province, China, 280 women in an ethnic minority called the Naxi wore a portable device that sampled the air they were breathing for 24 hours. The Naxi live in compounds including a central, free-standing kitchen that often has both a stove and a fire pit, says Jill Baumgartner, who performed the study with National Science Foundation funding while a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Indoor air pollution linked to cardiovascular risk | Science Blog
