Particulate Matter and Subclinical Atherosclerosis: Associations between Different Particle Sizes and Sources with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in the SAPALDIA Study
Background: Subclinical atherosclerosis has been associated with long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM), but the relevance of particle size and sources of exposure remains unclear.
Objectives: We investigated the association of long-term exposure to PM10 (≤ 10 μm), PM2.5 (≤ 2.5 μm: total mass, vehicular, and crustal sources), and ultrafine particles [UFP < 0.1 μm: particle number concentration (PNC) and lung-deposited surface area (LDSA)] with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT).
Methods: We used data from 1,503 participants ≥ 50 years old who participated in the third examination of the Swiss SAPALDIA cohort. Exposures were obtained from dispersion models and land-use regression models. Covariate information, including previous cardiovascular risk factors, was obtained from the second and third SAPALDIA examinations.
Results: The adjusted percent difference in CIMT associated with an exposure contrast between the 10th and 90th percentile was 1.58% (95% CI: –0.30, 3.47%) for PM10, 2.10% (95% CI: 0.04, 4.16%) for PM2.5, 1.67% (95% CI: –0.13, 3.48%) for the vehicular source of PM2.5, –0.58% (95% CI: –3.95, 2.79%) for the crustal source of PM2.5, 2.06% (95% CI: 0.03, 4.10%) for PNC, and 2.32% (95% CI: 0.23, 4.40%) for LDSA. Stronger associations were observed among diabetics, subjects with low-educational level, and those at higher cardiovascular risk.
Conclusions: CIMT was associated with exposure to PM10, PM2.5, and UFP. The PM2.5 source-specific analysis showed a positive association for the vehicular source but not for the crustal source. Although the effects of PNC and LDSA were similar in magnitude, two-pollutant and residual-based models suggested that LDSA may be a better marker for the health relevance of UFP.
1Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; 2University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 3Hôpital Intercantonal de la Broye, Payerne, Switzerland; 4Imagelabonline and Cardiovascular, Eindhoven and Lunteren, the Netherlands; 5Zürcher Höhenklinik Davos, Davos Clavadel, Switzerland; 6Division Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 7Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Recommended Citation:
Inmaculada Aguilera,1,2 Julia Dratva,et al. Particulate Matter and Subclinical Atherosclerosis: Associations between Different Particle Sizes and Sources with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in the SAPALDIA Study[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2016-01-01,Volume 124(Issue 11):1700