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ABSTRACT: Background
Exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM) has been associated with cardiovascular diseases.Objectives
In this study we evaluated whether annual exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with systemic inflammation, which is hypothesized to be an intermediate step to cardiovascular disease.Methods
Six cohorts of adults from Central and Northern Europe were used in this cross-sectional study as part of the larger ESCAPE project (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects). Data on levels of blood markers for systemic inflammation-high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen-were available for 22,561 and 17,428 persons, respectively. Land use regression models were used to estimate cohort participants' long-term exposure to various size fractions of PM, soot, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In addition, traffic intensity on the closest street and traffic load within 100 m from home were used as indicators of traffic air pollution exposure.Results
Particulate air pollution was not associated with systemic inflammation. However, cohort participants living on a busy (> 10,000 vehicles/day) road had elevated CRP values (10.2%; 95% CI: 2.4, 18.8%, compared with persons living on a quiet residential street with < 1,000 vehicles/day). Annual NOx concentration was also positively associated with levels of CRP (3.2%; 95% CI: 0.3, 6.1 per 20 ?g/m3), but the effect estimate was more sensitive to model adjustments. For fibrinogen, no consistent associations were observed.Conclusions
Living close to busy traffic was associated with increased CRP concentrations, a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, it remains unclear which specific air pollutants are responsible for the association.
SUBMITTER: Lanki T
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4529004 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Lanki Timo T Hampel Regina R Tiittanen Pekka P Andrich Silke S Beelen Rob R Brunekreef Bert B Dratva Julia J De Faire Ulf U Fuks Kateryna B KB Hoffmann Barbara B Imboden Medea M Jousilahti Pekka P Koenig Wolfgang W Mahabadi Amir A AA Künzli Nino N Pedersen Nancy L NL Penell Johanna J Pershagen Göran G Probst-Hensch Nicole M NM Schaffner Emmanuel E Schindler Christian C Sugiri Dorothea D Swart Wim J R WJ Tsai Ming-Yi MY Turunen Anu W AW Weinmayr Gudrun G Wolf Kathrin K Yli-Tuomi Tarja T Peters Annette A
Environmental health perspectives 20150327 8
<h4>Background</h4>Exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM) has been associated with cardiovascular diseases.<h4>Objectives</h4>In this study we evaluated whether annual exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with systemic inflammation, which is hypothesized to be an intermediate step to cardiovascular disease.<h4>Methods</h4>Six cohorts of adults from Central and Northern Europe were used in this cross-sectional study as part of the larger ESCAPE project (European Study of Coh ...[more]