Intracranial tumors of the central nervous system and air pollution – a nationwide case-control study from Denmark

Abstract

Background: Inconclusive evidence has suggested a possible link between air pollution and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. We investigated a range of air pollutants in relation to types of CNS tumors. Methods: We identified all (n = 21,057) intracranial tumors in brain, meninges and cranial nerves diagnosed in Denmark between 1989 and 2014 and matched controls on age, sex and year of birth. We established personal 10year mean residential outdoor exposure to particulate matter < 2.5 μm (PM 2.5), nitrous oxides (NO X), primary emitted black carbon (BC) and ozone. We used conditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) linearly (per interquartile range (IQR)) and categorically. We accounted for personal income, employment, marital status, use of medication as well as socio-demographic conditions at area level. Results: Malignant tumors of the intracranial CNS was associated with BC (OR: 1.034, 95%CI: 1.005-1.065 per IQR. For NO x the OR per IQR was 1.026 (95%CI: 0.998-1.056). For malignant non-glioma tumors of the brain we found associations with PM 2.5 (OR: 1.267, 95%CI: 1.053-1.524 per IQR), BC (OR: 1.049, 95%CI: 0.996-1.106) and NO x (OR: 1.051, 95% CI: 0.996-1.110). Conclusion: Our results suggest that air pollution is associated with malignant intracranial CNS tumors and malignant non-glioma of the brain. However, additional studies are needed.

Role of atmospheric particulate matter exposure in COVID-19 and other health risks in human: A review

“… PM 2.5 Boston, New York, Shanghai or Changsha 2010 - 2014 135 first episode schizophrenia patients Interacts with psychosis to reduce hippocampal volume Worthington et al (2020) 8. PM 2.5 Denmark 1989 - 2014 21,057 cases Increased risk factor for CNS tumors Poulsen et al (2020) 9. PM 2.5 Mexico 2007 - 2011 509 mothers Increased the risk of Postpartum depression and neuropsychological dysfunction in mothers Niedzwiecki et al (2020) 10.…”

Association between Airport-Related Ultrafine Particles and Risk of Malignant Brain Cancer: A Multiethnic Cohort Study

“…Despite having almost three times more meningioma cases for analysis, there was little evidence of an effect of UFP on risk of meningioma. We are not aware of previous findings on UFP and meningioma but results on air pollution and benign brain tumors were largely null in two large European studies (7,9) and suggestive positive associations were reported only in a small Danish study of nurses (11). Results to date on air pollution and risk of malignant brain cancer are also mixed.…”

“…Results to date on air pollution and risk of malignant brain cancer are also mixed. A small increased risk of malignant brain cancer and exposure to PM 2.5 was reported in a majority (10,12,14,15,54) of studies with such data but not all (7,9,16). Although PM 2.5 overall was unrelated to malignant brain cancer risk in the ESCAPE cohort, there was a 67% (95% CI, 0.89-3.14) elevated risk in association with PM 2.5 absorbance, which the authors suggested may be a better proxy for traffic-related particles in the UFP size range (9).…”

“…Although there is suggestive evidence from studies conducted in Europe (6)(7)(8)(9) and Los Angeles County (LAC; ref. 10) that some air pollutants may increase the risk of brain cancer, results are not at all consistent (11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Indoor Air Pollution and Decision-Making Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Review

“…Against this background, we now suspect that poor ventilation indoor, enclosed spaces can lead to the accumulation of bioaerosols (e.g., fungal and bacterial droplets), smoke-related particles (e.g., nitrosamines, cadmium), environmental gases (e.g., ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide), and other particulate matter (e.g., molds and mycotoxins) that when ingested over time causes substantial organismal stress (Figure 4) [39][40][41][42][43][44]. More specifically, epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to PM2.5 can build sufficiently to affect neural circuits driving particular behaviors or pathologies [45][46][47][48]. Although these correlational studies do not reveal causal mechanisms, they are consistent with the tenet that exposure to smoke-related toxins, for instance, can lead to allergic and/or inflammatory diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract [49,50].…”