Study on the Indoor Environment and the Health of Elderly in China

In this study, questionnaire survey and field measurement were conducted for the houses with the elderly in urban and rural areas across 6 regions of China, during heating period. As the results, the prevalence of hypertension was found around 40% in both urban and rural areas. In the northern regions, the room temperature in urban residences was stable at around 20°C, and in rural areas this temperature rarely reached 20°C but it fluctuated greatly. In the southern regions, the difference between room temperature and outdoor temperature was small in both urban and rural areas, and the room temperature seldom reached 15°C in particular. In this work, it was found that there was a negative correlation between room temperature and blood pressure.