An interventional study of Clean household energy in Blood Pressure and Lung Function, sponsored by Colorado State University. Completed at 1 site in Rwanda. Open to participants aged 8 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-15.
Sponsored by Colorado State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial substituting traditional forms of household energy (biomass for cooking and kerosene for lighting) with liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stoves/fuel and solar power (in areas marker for solar grids by the Government of Rwanda) in rural Rwanda. Eligible households (n=650) using traditional forms of energy will be recruited from eastern Rwanda. In each household, investigators will recruit either one adult female and one adult male or just one adult, and one child (aged 8-15 years). Following baseline health and exposure assessment, a randomized treatment arm (n=250 homes) will receive a full subsidy for LPG fuel and solar power, a control arm (n=250 homes) will continue to use traditional energy, and a random-subsidy arm (n=150 homes) will be randomized to a discounted price (at baseline and every 6-months) for solar and LPG in a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) service model (i.e., pre-pay a desired amount through mobile money). The random subsidy arm will then decide whether or not to cook with the discounted LPG or their traditional stove. Participants will be followed for 3 years with repeated measures of household air pollution (HAP) exposure (48-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC)), energy use, health, and preferences. Primary health endpoints include blood pressure (BP) in adults and lung-function growth in children; secondary endpoints include BP in children and lung-function change in adults. To complement the trial, the random-subsidy arm will generate policy-relevant information on causal relationships between energy costs, solar and LPG usage, and HAP exposures. The investigators propose 3 aims:
Aim 1. In an ITT framework, investigators will evaluate the effect of a household energy intervention on exposure to HAP and indicators of morbidity separately among Rwandan women, men, and children within n=500 households.
Aim 2. Using exposure-response modeling, investigators will characterize associations between exposure to HAP and indicators of morbidity separately among Rwandan women, men, and children within n=650 households (500 trial households + 150 random subsidy households).
Aim 3. Using a random-encouragement design, investigators will investigate causal relationships between randomized energy costs, measured energy usage, and estimated exposure to HAP among n=400 households (150 random subsidy households + 250 full subsidy treatment arm households).
Colorado State University is the lead sponsor of 117 studies on the registry; 19 are open to participants now.
Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 3 (60%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
This research will recruit and enroll 650 households (250 households in the full subsidy arm; 250 households in the control arm; 150 households in the discount subsidy arm).
The household level inclusion criteria is as follows:
Additional participant level inclusion is as follows:
Exclusion Criteria:
The household level exclusion criteria is as follows:
Additional participant level exclusion is as follows:
This arm receives free LPG and stove for cooking following the baseline measures, for the duration of the 3-year follow-up period. For those households in Government of Rwanda designated areas for solar microgrids, this arm will also be connected to and provided free access to solar electricity for lighting.
Other: Clean household energy
This arm will remain using traditional forms of energy for cooking and lighting.
This arm will be randomized to a discounted price (at baseline and every 6-months during the 3-year study) for solar electricity (in areas marker for solar grids by the Government of Rwanda) and LPG gas in a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) service model (i.e., pre-pay an affordable amount through mobile money, a common form of currency transactions in Rwanda). For example, this arm will be asked to cook as normal and decide whether or not to cook with the discounted LPG or their traditional stove (i.e., they will not be required to pay for LPG).
Other: Clean household energy
LPG stoves/fuel for cooking and solar electricity for lighting
Change in systolic blood pressure (adults)
Time frame: Blood pressure will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (children): FEV1 trajectory
Time frame: Spirometry will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (children): FVC trajectory
Time frame: Spirometry will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Change in systolic blood pressure (children)
Time frame: Blood pressure will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Change in diastolic blood pressure (children)
Time frame: Blood pressure will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (children): FEV1/FVC trajectory
Time frame: Spirometry will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (children): FEF25-75 trajectory
Time frame: Spirometry will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (children): PEF trajectory
Time frame: Spirometry will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Change in diastolic blood pressure (adults)
Time frame: Blood pressure will be measured approx. every 6 months for the 3-year follow-up period
Spirometry (adults): FEV1 change
Time frame: Lung function will be measured approx. every 1 year for the 3-year follow-up period (adults).
Spirometry (adults): FVC change
Time frame: Lung function will be measured approx. every 1 year for the 3-year follow-up period (adults).
Spirometry (adults): FEV1/FVC change
Time frame: Lung function will be measured approx. every 1 year for the 3-year follow-up period (adults).
Spirometry (adults): FEF25-75 change
Time frame: Lung function will be measured approx. every 1 year for the 3-year follow-up period (adults).
Spirometry (adults): PEF change
Time frame: Lung function will be measured approx. every 1 year for the 3-year follow-up period (adults).
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.