How fuel poverty hurts our health

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941962

 

 News Release 1-Feb-2022
How fuel poverty ‘gets under the skin’
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of East Anglia

 

The rocketing price of fuel could be making people’s physical and mental health worse – according to a new study from the University of East Anglia.

Researchers investigated how fuel poverty – not having enough money to heat your home - impacts health and wellbeing.

They found that not being able to keep homes warm enough affects people’s levels of life satisfaction.

But they also found that it impacts people’s physical health by causing higher levels of inflammation, measured by fibrinogen, a blood-based biomarker.

Dr Apostolos Davillas, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “We know that exposure to cold temperatures is associated with increased blood pressure, inflammation and cardiovascular mortality risks regardless of age or gender.

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And they were careful to adjust for other confounding factors that could be affecting people’s health such as lifestyle factors, including whether they smoke, eat their five-a-day, or get enough exercise.

Dr Davillas said: “We looked at those people in the study who experienced high fuel costs as a percentage of their household income or who felt that their home is not warm enough during winter. And we found a causal link between fuel poverty and poorer wellbeing, as well as an increased inflammatory biomarker called fibrinogen.

Dr Hui-Hsuan Liu, from the Department of Comparative Biomedical Science, Royal Veterinary College, said: “Fibrinogen helps the body to stop bleeding by promoting blood clotting, but it is also an inflammatory biomarker. Elevated fibrinogen levels have been strongly linked to higher risk of coronary heart disease, heart attacks, stroke and an increased risk of death.

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