Background: Few studies have focused on the influence of indoor air pollution on depression and cognitive impairment; besides, the underlying mechanism is not well-established.
Objective: This study aimed to fill the above gaps by exploring the underlying influence mechanism of solid fuel use, the major cause of indoor air pollution, with the risk of depression and cognitive impairment.
Methods: This data came from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2015 dataset. Self-reported household cooking fuels were collected and categorized as clean fuels and solid fuels. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cells (WBC) were used to measure inflammation. Depression and cognitive function were assessed by using standardized questionnaires.
Results: Respondents had an average Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) scores of 7.68 (SD = 6.14) and cognitive function scores of 15.97 (SD = 4.84). In the whole sample, 36.4 % of respondents used solid fuels use, but this proportion was much greater among those living in rural areas (78.38 %). Compared with clean fuel users, solid fuel users had more depression and worse cognitive function. After adjusting for confounders, indoor air pollution was significantly associated with depression and cognitive function respectively (β = -0.444, p < 0.001; β = 0.656, p < 0.001). Indoor air pollution was significantly related to the WBC (β = 0.170, p < 0.01), but not for the CRP. The WBC mediated the association between indoor air pollution and depression (β = 0.026, p < 0.01).
Conclusion: In conclusion, solid fuel use was significantly associated with a higher risk of depression and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, we found that solid fuel use influences depression partly via the inflammatory profile.
Keywords: Cognition; Depression; Indoor air pollution; Inflammation; Middle-aged and older.
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