GEOHealth India Hub
A fully integrated research and training program aiming at air pollution and cardiometabolic diseases with policy relevance to improve health of Indians.
Mission
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To accelerate scientific infrastructure development, enhance capacity, and support the research needed to fully characterize the relationship between air pollution and health effects in India.
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To build a critical core of environmental health researchers in India that will help develop the evidence base for health-centric policy-making across sectors.
Hypertension and Fine particulate matter
pollution in Delhi
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Strong effects of fine particulate matter exposure on blood pressure (BP) as well as risk of developing hypertension.
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Observed higher average systolic BP in monthly and annual exposures.
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Positive but less pronounced associations were observed for diastolic blood pressure.
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Average PM2.5 over durations of 1 year, 1.5 years, and 2 years increased the risk of developing hypertension by 1.5× (50% higher risk) 1.6× (60% higher risk), and 1.2× (20% higher risk), respectively.
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Results were stronger in study participants with higher waist-to-hip ratios, which is an indicator of central obesity.
Exposure to polluted air is associated with
an increased risk of type-2 diabetes
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The study found stronger effects of increased fasting plasma glucose [0.51mg/dl (95% CI: -0.36, 1.39)] and glycosylated haemoglobin [0.03 unit (95% CI: 0.01, 0.06)] in Chennai compared to Delhi.
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The risk of developing type 2 diabetes increased with longer durations of exposure, with the highest risk in Chennai compared to Delhi.
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The median PM2.5 (IQR) annual concentrations were 40.2 μg/m3 (37.5, 42.7) in Chennai and 101.5 μg/m3 (92.2, 119.8) in Delhi over the duration of the study.
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These results were also found to be stronger in study participants with higher body mass index, participants with high blood pressure [hypertensives] and younger participants in Delhi.
Hub Partners
