Association of household carbon consumption with cardiovascular diseases: A multicohort study

The household sector is a major contributor to CO2 emissions. Despite growing concerns about the sector's impacts on public health, an exploration of its association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) using a longitudinal dataset across multiple countries remains scarce. We conducted a multicohort study across three countries (China, Japan, and Australia) with 36 824 participants aged 18-64, free of diagnosed CVD. Cox proportional hazard regression models were employed to examine the relationship between household carbon consumption and CVD among adults with varied sociodemographic characteristics. To measure household energy-related practice, we use two metrics, one only includes energy use (electricity and fuel), and another is more comprehensive, including energy use, water, and transportation, and is named household carbon consumption (HCC). We also used the restricted cubic spline to analyze the dose-response association of household carbon consumption per month and CVD risk. Of all participants, 12.34% developed CVD. Higher energy consumption(EC) consistently correlated with an increased risk of CVD development (HR 1.18, 95% CI [1.10-1.26]), irrespective of age, gender, household income, and exercise frequency, in both China (1.17 [1.06-1.28]) and Australia (1.14 [1.02-1.26]). Additionally, high household carbon consumption was also a risk factor (1.09 [1.01-1.18]) in both China (1.10 [1.00-1.22]) and Japan (1.24 [1.09-1.42]). Notably, distinctions were discerned, with high household carbon consumption exerting a more pronounced detrimental effect on older participants (1.11 [1.02-1.21]), women (1.11 [1.00-1.23]), individuals exercise less (1.13 [1.03-1.23]), high-income households (1.15 [1.02-1.29]), and urban residents (1.14 [1.03 to 1.26]). Our findings highlight that high household carbon consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing CVD, particularly for individuals who spend prolonged periods indoors and engage in limited physical activity. Promoting a low energy consumption lifestyle and encouraging physical activity may help mitigate the risk of CVD in later life.