Risk/benefit tradeoff of habitual physical activity and air pollution on chronic pulmonary obstructive disease: findings from a large prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background The combined health impact of physical activity (PA) and air pollution on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains unclear. We investigated the joint effects of habitual PA and long-term fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure on COPD incidence in a prospective population-based cohort. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted using data from the UK Biobank. Incidence of COPD was ascertained through linkage to the UK National Health Services register. Annual mean PM2.5 concentration was obtained using land use regression model. PA was measured by questionnaire and wrist-worn accelerometer. Cox proportional hazard models were applied to examine the associations between PM2.5, PA, and COPD. Additive and multiplicative interactions were examined. Results A total of 266,280 participants free of COPD at baseline were included in data analysis with an average follow-up of 10.64 years, contributing to around 2.8 million person-years. Compared with participants with low level of PA, those with higher PA levels had lower risks of COPD incidence [hazard ratio (HR): 0.769, 95% CI: 0.720, 0.820 for moderate level; HR: 0.726, 95% CI: 0.679, 0.776 for high level]. By contrast, PM2.5 was associated with increased risk of COPD (HR per interquartile range increment: 1.065, 95% CI: 1.032, 1.099). Limited evidence of interaction between habitual PA and PM2.5 exposure was found. Similar results were found for accelerometer-measured PA. Conclusions Our study suggests that habitual PA could reduce risk of COPD incidence, and such protective effects were not affected by ambient PM2.5 pollution exposure.

Long‐term exposure to air pollution and incident non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease and cirrhosis: A cohort study

“…When air pollution data from the UK Biobank and the UK Air Information Resource (UK AIR) were compared, the distribution patterns appeared to be consistent between both resources 22 . As most of the air pollutants were largely stable between 2005 and 2020, the air pollution exposure in our study could represent the long‐term exposure 21–24 …”

“…22 As most of the air pollutants were largely stable between 2005 and 2020, the air pollution exposure in our study could represent the long-term exposure. [21][22][23][24] To better translate the overall effect of different air pollutants, a weighted air pollution score was also generated; and since PM 10 includes PM 2.5 and PM…”

Association Between Joint Physical Activity and Dietary Quality and Lower Risk of Depression Symptoms in US Adults: Cross-sectional NHANES Study

“…In accordance with the WHO analysis guide, PA was converted to metabolic equivalent (MET) minutes of moderate to vigorous PA per week [ 24 ]. MET values vary with the type of exercise, and the NHANES offers the recommended MET values for each PA. PA was based on the MET values of type, frequency, and duration of activities per week, which was calculated using the following formula: PA (MET-min/wk) = MET × weekly frequency × duration of each PA [ 26 ]. PA=0 denotes participants who do not engage in any PA, else, it means that participants have constant or intermittent PA.…”

Ambient Air Pollutants and Incident Microvascular Disease: A Cohort Study

“…We used the averaged values of NO 2 and PM 10 in the present study. Notably, as the fluctuation of temporal trend of most air pollution was generally stable during the study period, − the average values of air pollution could be used as a surrogate measure of long-term exposure, and thus the duration of exposure was defined as the time between baseline assessment and the end of the study. The distribution patterns of air pollution exposures in the UK Biobank are consistent with the spatial distributions of air pollutants from the public UK Air Information Resources .…”