Personal Exposure to Household Particulate Matter, Household Activities and Heart Rate Variability among Housewives

BACKGROUND: The association between indoor air pollution and heart rate variability (HRV) has been well-documented. Little is known about effects of household activities on indoor air quality and HRV alteration. To investigate changes in HRV associated with changes in personal exposure to household particulate matter (PM) and household activities. METHODS: We performed 24-h continuous monitoring of electrocardiography and measured household PM exposure among 50 housewives. The outcome variables were log(10)-transformed standard deviation of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals (SDNN) and the square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals (r-MSSD). Household PM was measured as the mass concentration of PM with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM(2.5)). We used mixed-effects models to examine the association between household PM(2.5) exposure and log(10)-transformed HRV indices. RESULTS: After controlling for potential confounders, an interquartile range change in household PM(2.5) with 1- to 4-h mean was associated with 1.25–4.31% decreases in SDNN and 0.12–3.71% decreases in r-MSSD. Stir-frying, cleaning with detergent and burning incense may increase household PM(2.5) concentrations and modify the effects of household PM(2.5) on HRV indices among housewives. CONCLUSIONS: Indoor PM(2.5) exposures were associated with decreased SDNN and r-MSSD among housewives, especially during stir-frying, cleaning with detergent and burning incense.