The Association Between Short‐term Residential Black Carbon Concentration on Blood Pressure in a General Population Sample

BACKGROUND: Exposure to black carbon indoors may be associated with blood pressure; however, evidence is limited to vulnerable subpopulations and highly exposed individuals. Our objective was to explore the relationship between indoor black carbon at various exposure windows on resting blood pressure in a general population sample. METHODS: Black carbon was measured in the home of 76 individuals aged 10-71 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Exposure was measured every 1 minute for up to 120 hours using an AE51 microaethalometer. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were measured at the conclusion of exposure monitoring. RESULTS: In adjusted models, at all exposure windows, increasing black carbon was associated with increased systolic blood pressure. The period 0-72 hours prior to blood pressure measurement showed the strongest effect; a 1 mug/m(3) increase in black carbon was associated with a 7.55 mm Hg (P = .02) increase in systolic blood pressure. The relationship was stronger in participants reporting doctor-diagnosed hypertension (beta = 6.47 vs beta = 3.27). Black carbon was not associated with diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Increasing black carbon concentration indoors is positively associated with increasing systolic blood pressure with the most relevant exposure window being 0-72 hours prior to blood pressure measurement. Individuals with hypertension may be a more susceptible population.