title: Personal exposure to household particulate matter, household activities and heart rate variability among housewives.
abstract: 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 log10-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 (PM2.5). We used mixed-effects models to examine the association between household PM2.5 exposure and log10-transformed HRV indices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for potential confounders, an interquartile range change in household PM2.5 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 PM2.5 concentrations and modify the effects of household PM2.5 on HRV indices among housewives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Indoor PM2.5 exposures were associated with decreased SDNN and r-MSSD among housewives, especially during stir-frying, cleaning with detergent and burning incense.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmetic Application and Management, St. Mary's Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Yilan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hua-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bor-Cheng
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Management, St. Mary's Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Yilan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Respiratory Therapy, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiao-Chi
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lian-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kai-Jen
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052638:Particulate Matter
chemical_list: D052638:Particulate Matter