Exposure to frying aerosol and its cardiovascular impacts

Indoor air is very important from the exposure point of view as we spent more than 80% of our time indoors. Cooking is known as a major source of PM2.5 and ultrafine particles (UFPs) inside homes. High exposure to PM2.5 and to UFPs can cause cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer. Studies exist in the literature that addressed the impact of exposure to cooking fumes on human blood pressure and heart rate. However, such studies lack a controlled design of the experiments. Experiments were conducted to study the cardiovascular effects of the exposure to UFPs, including frying beef on an electric stove and a gas stove. Blood pressure (for gas stove cooking) and heart ECG (for the electric stove cooking) were monitored before cooking, during cooking, and after the end of the cooking up to two hours. Fifteen healthy volunteers ranged between 18 to 36 years old, participated in the experiments using electric stoves, and their heart rate was monitored using a clinical ECG. Ten healthy volunteers ranged from 20 to 65 years old were recruited for the blood pressure study. During the experiments, PM1, PM2.5, PM10, UFPs, CO2, Indoor Relative humidity, and temperature were monitored. PM2.5 and UFP concentrations increased from 0.013 to 0.025 mg/m³ and from 7400 to 65622 particles/cm³ during cooking. Physical activities during cooking, such as standing over the stove and thermal stress, increased the heart rate. Exposure to cooking aerosol decreased the heart rate such that the collective effect of physical activities during cooking and exposure to cooking aerosol led to reductions in the heart rate. Also, exposure to cooking aerosol itself increased the systolic blood pressure during the post-exposure period that was counterbalanced with another factor, lack of food, and during the experiment, which reduced the blood pleasure.