‘The impact of household air pollution exposure from cooking and nutrition on metabolic syndrome in five periurban communities in India’ by Dr Matthew Shupler

This project will quantify the relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposures from household air pollution, nutritional intake and the odds of metabolic syndrome (MetS) across five peri-urban communities in India. While increased physical inactivity and poorer diets are leading to higher rates of MetS in India, air pollution exposure may also be contributing to the estimated 30% prevalence of MetS in the country. To date, most epidemiological studies have examined the impact of outdoor air pollution on MetS in high-income countries. This study will be one of the first to investigate if foods high in antioxidants or specific nutrients may lower the burden of MetS associated with household air pollution exposure from cooking in India.

Dr Matt Shupler is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School of Public Health. He completed his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Over the past decade, Dr Shupler has conducted air pollution research in more than a dozen countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and South America. His research is specifically focused on reducing the adverse health and climate impacts of household air pollution from using polluting fuels (e.g. wood, charcoal) for household energy. His work includes characterizing variation in exposures of PM_2.5 and other air pollutants and assessing interventions that contribute to increased use of clean cooking fuels. Dr Shupler has previously worked as a Global Health Fellow at the United Nations Foundation, where he focused on training emerging early career researchers from low and middle-income countries on statistical methods relevant to air pollution epidemiology. Dr Shupler has also partnered with the World Health Organization to communicate the health effects of household air pollution exposure to global audiences.