Chronic exposure to air pollution particles increases the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome: findings from a natural experiment in Beijing

Abstract

Epidemiologic evidence suggests that air pollution is a risk factor for childhood obesity. Limited experimental data have shown that early-life exposure to ambient particles either increases susceptibility to diet-induced weight gain in adulthood or increases insulin resistance, adiposity, and inflammation. However, no data have directly supported a link between air pollution and non-diet-induced weight increases. In a rodent model, we found that breathing Beijing's highly polluted air resulted in weight gain and cardiorespiratory and metabolic dysfunction. Compared to those exposed to filtered air, pregnant rats exposed to unfiltered Beijing air were significantly heavier at the end of pregnancy. At 8 wk old, the offspring prenatally and postnatally exposed to unfiltered air were significantly heavier than those exposed to filtered air. In both rat dams and their offspring, after continuous exposure to unfiltered air we observed pronounced histologic evidence for both perivascular and peribronchial inflammation in the lungs, increased tissue and systemic oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and an enhanced proinflammatory status of epididymal fat. Results suggest that TLR2/4-dependent inflammatory activation and lipid oxidation in the lung can spill over systemically, leading to metabolic dysfunction and weight

Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits

“…There is a growing body of evidence that supports the notion that exposure to oxidative stress leads to increased adiposity, risk of obesity, and poor cardiometabolic outcomes2756. Our results for BMI and WCadjBMI, specifically associations identified near CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4, PRNP, SLC23A2, BACH1 and NMNAT1, highlight new biological pathways and processes for future examination and may lead to a greater understanding of how oxidative stress leads to changes in obesity phenotypes and downstream cardiometabolic risk.…”

Particulate Matter Air Pollution and the Risk of Incident CKD and Progression to ESRD

“…41 Emerging evidence also suggests that exposure to ambient air pollutants can lead to metabolic disturbances, including glucose intolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, higher blood lipid concentrations, weight gain, and increased risk of diabetes mellitus. [42][43][44] It is plausible that one or more of these mechanistic pathways may explain the association described here.…”

Pathophysiologic relationship between Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiovascular risk: A review and synthesis

“…Chronic exposure to air pollution, which is associated with reduced HRV, is another environmental factor that is associated with both CVD and AD. Specifically, long‐term exposure to high ozone and high particulate matter in the air leads to increased risk for obesity, metabolic syndromes [190], and a host of CVDs [191] including myocardial ischemia and infarction, heart failure, arrhythmias, stroke, and increased cardiovascular mortality [192]. Recently, a dose–response relationship was found between longitudinal exposure to high concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter <10 μm in diameter and significantly increased risk of AD and VCID in industrial regions of Taiwan [193].…”