The Impact of PM2.5 on the Growth Curves of Children's Obesity Indexes: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

AimsTo explore the effect of long-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) on childhood obesity based on a cohort study in Chongqing.MethodsA total of 4,284 children aged 6–8 years at baseline were enrolled from the Chongqing Children Health Cohort in 2014–2015 and were followed up in 2019. A stratified cluster sampling was applied to select the participants. A Mixed-effects linear regression model was used to examine the effect of long-term exposure to PM2.5 on the growth curve of obesity indicators [including body mass index (BMI), BMI Z-score (BMIz), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)]. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to study the dose relationship between PM2.5 exposure and the risk of obesity indicators.ResultsA higher level of accumulating exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an increased childhood obesity index, and the effect was the most significant for WHtR than BMI and BMIz. This effect was more pronounced in boys than in girls except for WHtR, and it was the most significant under the PM2.5 exposure period from pregnancy to 6 years old. Compared the annual average PM2.5 exposure level of <60 μg/m3, the WHtR and BMI were increased by 0.019 [(95% CIs): 0.014, 0.024] and 0.326 [(95% CIs): 0.037, 0.616] Kg/m2 for participants living with the PM2.5 exposure level of 70–75 μg/m3, respectively. For every 5 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 levels (from pregnancy to 6 years old), the risk of central obesity was increased by 1.26 {odds ratio [OR] (95% CIs): 1.26 (1.16, 1.37), p < 0.001} times.ConclusionsThis study confirmed a dose-response relationship between PM2.5 exposure and childhood obesity, especially central obesity, suggesting that controlling ambient air pollution can prevent the occurrence of obesity in children and adolescents.

Multi-omics reveals hypertrophy of adipose tissue and lipid metabolism disorder via mitochondria in young mice under real-ambient exposure to air pollution

“…Recently, accumulating research has shown that exposure to PM2.5 can act as an independent factor to disrupt the balance of lipid metabolism (McGuinn et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2021). Air pollution can increase the BMI of children and can increase the probability of developing obesity, as reported by most epidemiological studies (Tong et al, 2022). The underlying molecular mechanisms, however, are not completely understood.…”

“…Recently accumulating epidemiological studies have supported the link between air pollution and obesity ( Dong et al, 2014 ; Li et al, 2015b ; Rohde and Muller, 2015 ). For instance, prenatal exposure to air pollution or childhood exposure to traffic pollution increases BMI and contributes to the development of obesity ( Fioravanti et al, 2018 ; Tong et al, 2022 ). Consistently, our results show that whole-body PM2.5 exposure leads to significant hypertrophy of white adipose tissue in young mice, including sWAT and gWAT.…”

“…A study showed that air pollution can cause disruptions of fatty acid metabolism in young people living near roads and may increase the risk of obesity-related metabolic diseases in adolescents ( Chen et al, 2019 ). Accumulating epidemiological research has revealed that childhood exposure to air pollution contributes to overweight and a higher body mass index (BMI) in children ( Tong et al, 2022 ). However, the underlying mechanism remains to be clarified.…”

Relationship between quality of life and adolescent glycolipid metabolism disorder: A cohort study

“…Family history of obesity or CVD was investigated using a self-filled questionnaire. In addition, sleeping quality and dietary intake of vegetables, red meat, and salt were surveyed; the detailed protocol was published in a previous paper[ 18 , 19 ].…”

Air Pollution, Built Environment, and Early Cardiovascular Disease

“…51 In a meta-analysis of 15 studies of air pollution exposure in children, a significant association was found between PM 1 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 , with a 28% increase in the risk of obesity per 10-µg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 . 52 Tong et al 53 found that every 5-µg/ m 3 increase in PM 2.5 levels in children 6 to 8 years of age followed for 4 years led to a 26% increase in relative risk of central obesity. In a large cohort of 44 718 children and adolescents aged 7 to 18 years in China, PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and NO 2 were associated with increased body mass index Z score, waist circumference, and waist-toheight ratio, and higher prevalence of general and central Built environment and air pollution make up a key element of one's social determinants of health.…”