Short-term exposure to air pollution and biomarkers of cardiovascular effect: A repeated measures study.

Yu Ni, Russell P Tracy, Elaine Cornell, Joel D Kaufman, Adam A Szpiro, Matthew J Campen, Sverre Vedal

Journal: Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) 2021;279():116893

PMID: 33765506

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Abstract

To help understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms linking air pollutants and cardiovascular disease (CVD), we employed a repeated measures design to investigate the associations of four short-term air pollution exposures - particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O) and sulfur dioxide (SO), with two blood markers involved in vascular effects of oxidative stress, soluble lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (sLOX-1) and nitrite, using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Seven hundred and forty participants with plasma sLOX-1 and nitrite measurements at three exams between 2002 and 2007 were included. Daily PM, NO, O and SO zero to seven days prior to blood draw were estimated from central monitors in six MESA regions, pre-adjusted using site-specific splines of meteorology and temporal trends, and an indicator for day of the week. Unconstrained distributed lag generalized estimating equations were used to estimate net effects over eight days with adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioral factors. The results showed that higher short-term concentrations of PM, but not other pollutants, were associated with increased sLOX-1 analyzed both as a continuous outcome (percent change per interquartile increase: 16.36%, 95%CI: 0.1-35.26%) and dichotomized at the median (odds ratio per interquartile increase: 1.21, 95%CI: 1.01-1.44). The findings were not meaningfully changed after adjustment for additional covariates or in several sensitivity analyses. Pollutant concentrations were not associated with nitrite levels. This study extends earlier experimental findings of increased sLOX-1 levels following PM inhalation to a much larger population and at ambient concentrations. In light of its known mechanistic role in promoting vascular disease, sLOX-1 may be a suitable translational biomarker linking air pollutant exposures and cardiovascular outcomes.

Address: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, 360 S. Park Drive, Colchester, VT, 05446, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, 360 S. Park Drive, Colchester, VT, 05446, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA; Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 1705 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico, MSC09 5360, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116893