BackgroundExposure to air pollution has been consistently associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but mechanisms remain uncertain. Associations with blood pressure (BP) may help to explain the cardiovascular effects of air pollution.ObjectiveWe examined the cross-sectional relationship between long-term (annual average) residential air pollution exposure and BP in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Sister Study, a large U.S. cohort study investigating risk factors for breast cancer and other outcomes.MethodsThis analysis included 43,629 women 35–76 years of age, enrolled 2003–2009, who had a sister with breast cancer. Geographic information systems contributed to satellite-based nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm; PM2.5) predictions at participant residences at study entry. Generalized additive models were used to examine the relationship between pollutants and measured BP at study entry, adjusting for cardiovascular disease risk factors and including thin plate splines for potential spatial confounding.ResultsA 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with 1.4-mmHg higher systolic BP (95% CI: 0.6, 2.3; p < 0.001), 1.0-mmHg higher pulse pressure (95% CI: 0.4, 1.7; p = 0.001), 0.8-mmHg higher mean arterial pressure (95% CI: 0.2, 1.4; p = 0.01), and no significant association with diastolic BP. A 10-ppb increase in NO2 was associated with a 0.4-mmHg (95% CI: 0.2, 0.6; p < 0.001) higher pulse pressure.ConclusionsLong-term PM2.5 and NO2 exposures were associated with higher blood pressure. On a population scale, such air pollution–related increases in blood pressure could, in part, account for the increases in cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality seen in prior studies.CitationChan SH, Van Hee VC, Bergen S, Szpiro AA, DeRoo LA, London SJ, Marshall JD, Kaufman JD, Sandler DP. 2015. Long-term air pollution exposure and blood pressure in the Sister Study. Environ Health Perspect 123:951–958; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408125

Living in close proximity to major roadways is associated with higher LVMI, suggesting chronic vascular end-organ damage from a traffic-related environmental exposure. Air pollutants or another component of roadway proximity, such as noise, could be responsible.

Rationale: Right heart failure is a cause of morbidity and mortality in common and rare heart and lung diseases. Exposure to traffic-related air pollution is linked to left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, and death. Relationships between traffic-related air pollution and right ventricular (RV) structure and function have not been studied.Objectives: To characterize the relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and RV structure and function.Methods: We included men and women with magnetic resonance imaging assessment of RV structure and function and estimated residential outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) concentrations from the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, a study of individuals free of clinical cardiovascular disease at baseline. Multivariable linear regression estimated associations between NO 2 exposure (averaged over the year prior to magnetic resonance imaging) and measures of RV structure and function after adjusting for demographics, anthropometrics, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. Adjustment for corresponding left ventricular parameters, traffic-related noise, markers of inflammation, and lung disease were considered in separate models. Secondary analyses considered oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) as the exposure. Measurements and Main Results:The study sample included 3,896 participants. In fully adjusted models, higher NO 2 was associated with greater RV mass and larger RV end-diastolic volume with or without further adjustment for corresponding left ventricular parameters, traffic-related noise, inflammatory markers, or lung disease (all P , 0.05). There was no association between NO 2 and RV ejection fraction. Relationships between NO x and RV morphology were similar.Conclusions: Higher levels of NO 2 exposure were associated with greater RV mass and larger RV end-diastolic volume.

Objectives This study evaluated the association of long- and short-term air pollutant exposures with flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and baseline arterial diameter (BAD) of the brachial artery using ultrasound in a large multicity cohort. Background Exposures to ambient air pollution, especially long-term exposure to particulate matter <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), are linked with cardiovascular mortality. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with decreased FMD and vasoconstriction, suggesting that adverse effects of PM2.5 may involve endothelial dysfunction. However, long-term effects of PM2.5 on endothelial dysfunction have not been investigated. Methods FMD and BAD were measured by brachial artery ultrasound at the initial examination of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Long-term PM2.5 concentrations were estimated for the year 2000 at each participant’s residence (n = 3,040) using a spatio-temporal model informed by cohort-specific monitoring. Short-term PM2.5 concentrations were based on daily central-site monitoring in each of the 6 cities. Results An interquartile increase in long-term PM2.5 concentration (3 μg/m3) was associated with a 0.3% decrease in FMD (95% confidence interval [CI] of difference: −0.6 to −0.03; p = 0.03), adjusting for demographic characteristics, traditional risk factors, sonographers, and 1/BAD. Women, nonsmokers, younger participants, and those with hypertension seemed to show a greater association of PM2.5 with FMD. FMD was not significantly associated with short-term variation in PM2.5 (−0.1% per 12 μg/m3 daily increase [95% CI: −0.2 to 0.04] on the day before examination). Conclusions Long-term PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with decreased endothelial function according to brachial ultrasound results. These findings may elucidate an important pathway linking air pollution and cardiovascular mortality.

BackgroundElevated left ventricular mass (LVM) is a strong predictor of negative cardiovascular outcomes, including heart failure, stroke, and sudden cardiac death. A relationship between close (< 50 m compared with > 150 m) residential proximity to major roadways and higher LVM has previously been described, but the mechanistic pathways that are involved in this relationship are not known. Understanding genetic factors that influence susceptibility to these effects may provide insight into relevant mechanistic pathways.ObjectiveWe set out to determine whether genetic polymorphisms in genes affecting vascular and autonomic function, blood pressure, or inflammation influence the relationship between traffic proximity and LVM.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 1,376 genotyped participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging performed between 2000 and 2002. The impact of tagged single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) and inferred haplotypes in 12 candidate genes (ACE, ADRB2, AGT, AGTR1, ALOX15, EDN1, GRK4, PTGS1, PTGS2, TLR4, VEGFA, and VEGFB) on the relationship between residential proximity to major roadways and LVM was analyzed using multiple linear regression, adjusting for multiple potential confounders.ResultsAfter accounting for multiple testing and comparing homozygotes, tagSNPs in the type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AGTR1, rs6801836) and arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase (ALOX15, rs2664593) genes were each significantly (q < 0.2) associated with a 9–10% difference in the association between residential proximity to major roadways and LVM. Participants with suboptimal blood pressure control demonstrated stronger interactions between AGTR1 and traffic proximity.ConclusionsCommon polymorphisms in genes responsible for vascular function, inflammation, and oxidative stress appear to modify associations between proximity to major roadways and LVM. Further understanding of how genes modify effects of air pollution on CVD may help guide research efforts into specific mechanistic pathways.