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Traffic-related air pollution is associated with cardio-metabolic biomarkers in general residents

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Abstract

Purpose

The study was conducted to explore the mechanisms linking traffic-related air pollution and cardio-metabolic risk.

Methods

The participants included 371 men and women aged from 45 to 75 in an urban residential area in Shanghai, China. The participants were divided into four categories (≤50, 51–100, 101–200 and >200 m) according to the residential distance to major road. Additionally, the personal fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was measured from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm to assess the PM2.5 exposure in general residents. Then, the continuous subclinical measurements and biological effects related to cardio-metabolic disorders were detected. The generalized linear regression analysis was applied for estimating the adjusted hazards ratio for cardio-metabolic disorders relative to traffic-related air pollution.

Results

The average personal PM2.5 is 111.1 μg/m3 in the participants living within 50 m to major road, which is significantly higher than the personal PM2.5 (68.2 μg/m3) in the participants living more than 200 m away from the major road. The participants living within 50 m to major road compared with those living more than 200 m away have 1.15 times higher of heart rate (HR), 1.95 times higher of fasting insulin, 1.30 times higher of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), 1.56 times higher of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), 8.39 times higher of interleukin 6 (IL-6), 4.30 times higher of augmentation index (AI), 1.60 times higher of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 1.91 times higher of diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Contrary to the increase in above biological effects, there were 1.06 times lower of low frequency (LF), 1.05 times lower of high frequency (HF), 2.54 times lower of IL-10, 4.61 times lower of nitric oxide (NO), 1.19 times lower of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and 1.85 times lower of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). There was no clear exposure–response relationship can be observed in the fasting glucose, LF/HF, cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

Conclusion

Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may contribute to the development or exacerbation of cardio-metabolic disorders. The mechanisms linking air pollution and cardio-metabolic disorders may be associated with the increased systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, reduced insulin sensitivity and elevated arterial stiffness and blood pressure.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 91543119, 81001229).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Fudan University, 331 Building 8, 130 Dong’an Road, Shanghai, 200032, China

      Shuo Jiang, Liang Bo, Changyi Gong, Xihao Du, Haidong Kan, Weimin Song & Jinzhuo Zhao

    2. Department of Cardiology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

      Yuquan Xie

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    1. Shuo Jiang
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    3. Changyi Gong
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    Shuo Jiang and Liang Bo have contributed equally to this work.

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    Jiang, S., Bo, L., Gong, C. et al. Traffic-related air pollution is associated with cardio-metabolic biomarkers in general residents. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 89, 911–921 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-016-1129-3

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