Exposure to Indoor PM2.5 Increases 24-hour Blood Pressure in Adult Urban Population from Bucaramanga, Colombia

Background/Aim: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated to high blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, most studies have used outdoor as proxy of indoor PM2.5 and office-based or one-point BP measurements not reflecting physiological BP behaviour. We determined the relationship between indoor PM2.5 and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in adults (≥ 40 years, non-smokers, without CVD) from Bucaramanga, Colombia. We systematically sampled houses within a 1.5 km radius around two PM10/2.5 area monitors of the local air quality network, searching for participants. Indoor PM2.5 was measured in each participant’s house with gravimetric sampling pumps (Casella Cel–TUFF; 3L/min flow) during 1-2 consecutive days (≥ 8 hours/monitoring). Measurement of ABP (Spacelab, 90217A) was performed concurrently to indoor monitoring (≥ 60% effective BP measurements were required for inclusion). We collected sociodemographic, anthropometric and physic...