Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the effectiveness of an intervention (combination of behavioural recommendations and technical measures) in reducing personal exposure to heat and air pollution and related health effects in older adults with hypertension.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does the intervention (combination of behavioral recommendations for heat mitigation) reduce personal ambient temperature exposure, measured using a wearable device (iButton)?
- Does the intervention (combination of behavioral recommendations for air pollution mitigation and use of indoor air cleaners) reduce indoor exposure to air pollution, measured using indoor air quality sensors (Purple Air)?
- Does the intervention (combination of behavioral recommendations for heat mitigation) improve the abnormalities in circadian blood pressure variation experienced by older adults with hypertension, assessed using advanced actigraphy? Researchers will compare measurements between older adults with hypertension carrying out their daily activities in the absence of intervention (control group), those carrying out their daily activities with behavioural recommendations (recommendation intervention group) and those carrying out their daily activities with both behavioural recommendations for heat mitigation and continuous use of indoor air cleaners in their house (heat and air pollution mitigation intervention group) to see if changes in temperature exposure and sleep are different between intervention groups.
Participants will:
- Wear the wearable devise for continuous personal ambient temperature monitoring (ibutton) daily for a period of three months
- Have their core temperature measured using an eCelsius medical capsule in three repeated assessments
- Have their blood pressure, oxygen saturation, ECG and heart rate variability measured using 24-hour advanced actigraphy in three repeated assessments
- Provide samples of urine and blood biomarkers in three repeated assessments.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged ≥65 years
- Living in Barcelona (Spain) or Nicosia (Cyprus) metropolitan areas
- Have a physician's diagnosis of arterial hypertension
- Receive daily anti-hypertensive medication
- Clinically stable
Exclusion Criteria:
- Currently smoking
- Presence of any smoking residents in the household
- Not residing at the household for at least 5 days a week
- Planning to move from the current home within the next two months
- No access to Wi-Fi or 4G/5G mobile phone
- Severe chronic conditions (congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, significant valvular heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), inflammatory diseases, renal failure, or active cancer)
- Illicit drugs abuse
- Alcohol abuse
- Psychiatric disorders
- Severe mental disability that interferes with answering questions or following instructions
