Chronic exposure to outdoor air pollution and diagnosed cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of three large cross-sectional surveys

Abstract

BackgroundHigher exposure to outdoor air pollution is associated with increased cardiopulmonary deaths, but there is limited evidence about the association between outdoor air pollution and diagnosed cardiovascular disease. Our study aimed to estimate the size of the association between long term exposure to outdoor air pollution and prevalent cardiovascular disease.MethodsWe carried out a cross-sectional analysis of data on more than 19,000 white adults aged 45 and older who participated in three representative surveys of the English population in 1994, 1998 and 2003, examining the relationship between self-reported doctor-diagnosed cardiovascular disease and exposure to outdoor air pollutants using multilevel regression techniques and meta-analysis.ResultsThe combined estimates suggested that an increase of 1 μg m-3 in concentration of particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter was associated with an increase of 2.9% (95% CI -0.6% to 6.5%) in prevalence of cardiovascular disease in men, and an increase of 1.6% (95%CI -2.1% to 5.5%) in women. The year-specific analyses showed strongly positive associations in 2003 between odds of cardiovascular disease in both men and women and exposure to particulate matter but not in 1994 or 1998. We found no consistent associations between exposure to gaseous air pollutants and doctor-diagnosed cardiovascular disease.ConclusionThe associations of prevalent cardiovascular disease with concentration of particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, while only weakly positive, were consistent with the effects reported in cohort studies. The results provide evidence of the size of the association between particulate air pollution and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease but no evidence for an association with gaseous pollutants. We found strongly positive associations between particulate matter and cardiovascular disease in 2003 only, which highlights the importance of replicating findings in more than one population.

Direct contact with particulate matter increases oxidative stress in different brain structures

“…Long-term epidemiological studies have indicated a positive association between exposure to high levels of atmospheric PM and severe health effects in subjects with circulatory disturbances (Forbes et al, 2009). The lack of comprehension of this problem has stimulated the development of experimental and epidemiological researches through analytical chemistry, histological and biochemical evaluations (Calderon-Garciduenas et al, 2011;Morgan et al, 2011).…”

Indoor air particles in office buildings with suspected indoor air problems in the Helsinki area

“…A number of studies have shown that exposure to fine particulate air pollution can lead to various adverse health effects in humans. The most serious health effects have been associated with combustion-and traffic-generated particles in the outdoor air [15,[43][44][45][46]. Indoor PM has also been associated with increased respiratory symptoms [22,23].…”

Cities, environmental stressors, ageing and chronic disease

“…A large body of literature detailing the impact of urban environmental stressors on public health [4,9–11]. Urban exposure to noise, air pollution and pesticides are known to increase the likelihood of specific chronic diseases [9–14].…”