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BackgroundExposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been linked to decline in pulmonary function and cardiovascular events possibly through inflammation. Little is known about individual exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) inside and outside modern homes and associated health-related effects.MethodsAssociations between vascular and lung function, inflammation markers and exposure in terms of particle number concentration (PNC; d = 10-300 nm) were studied in a cross-sectional design with personal and home indoor monitoring in the Western Copenhagen Area, Denmark. During 48-h, PNC and PM2.5 were monitored in living rooms of 60 homes with 81 non-smoking subjects (30-75 years old), 59 of whom carried personal monitors both when at home and away from home. We measured lung function in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio, microvascular function (MVF) and pulse amplitude by digital artery tonometry, blood pressure and biomarkers of inflammation including C-reactive protein, and leukocyte counts with subdivision in neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes in blood.ResultsPNC from personal and stationary home monitoring showed weak correlation (r = 0.15, p = 0.24). Personal UFP exposure away from home was significantly inversely associated with MVF (1.3% decline per interquartile range, 95% confidence interval: 0.1-2.5%) and pulse amplitude and positively associated with leukocyte and neutrophil counts. The leukocyte and neutrophil counts were also positively and pulse amplitude negatively associated with total personal PNC. Indoor PNC and PM2.5 showed positive association with blood pressure and inverse association with eosinophil counts.ConclusionsThe inverse association between personal exposure away from home and MVF is consistent with adverse health effects of UFP from sources outside the home and might be related to increased inflammation indicated by leukocyte counts, whereas UFP from sources in the home could have less effect.

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Exposure to particles in the fine and ultrafine size range has been linked to induction of low-grade systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and development of cardiovascular diseases. Declining levels of endothelial progenitor cells within systemic circulation have likewise been linked to progression of cardiovascular diseases. The objective was to determine if exposure to fine and ultrafine particles from indoor and outdoor sources, assessed by personal and residential indoor monitoring, is associated with altered levels of endothelial progenitor cells, and whether such effects are related to leukocyte-mediated oxidative stress. The study utilized a cross sectional design performed in 58 study participants from a larger cohort. Levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells, defined as either late (CD34(+)KDR(+) cells) or early (CD34(+)CD133(+)KDR(+) cells) subsets were measured using polychromatic flow cytometry. We additionally measured production of reactive oxygen species in leukocyte subsets (lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes) by flow cytometry using intracellular 2',7'-dichlorofluoroscein. The measurements encompassed both basal levels of reactive oxygen species production and capacity for reactive oxygen species production for each leukocyte subset. We found that the late endothelial progenitor subset was negatively associated with levels of ultrafine particles measured within the participant residences and with reactive oxygen species production capacity in lymphocytes. Additionally, the early endothelial progenitor cell levels were positively associated with a personalised measure of ultrafine particle exposure and negatively associated with both basal and capacity for reactive oxygen species production in lymphocytes and granulocytes, respectively. Our results indicate that exposure to fine and ultrafine particles derived from indoor sources may have adverse effects on human vascular health.

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Cladosporium spp. are omnipresent moulds that grow on multiple substrates. Their spores possess a high allergenic potential. Currently, little is known about the incidence and the sources of airborne Cladosporium spores in Denmark. Air samples were collected between 31 May and 22 September 2015 in Viborg (Jutland, western Denmark). Eighteen out of 21 days with daily average concentrations exceeding the health relevant threshold of 3,000 Spores m-3, including the day with peak daily (13,553 Spores m-3) and 3-h concentrations (35,662 Spores m-3), occurred in August. The air masses that approached Viborg during the longest episode of elevated spore concentrations originated from northern Poland, the Baltics, passing over southern Sweden and the eastern Danish island of Zealand. The Cladosporium spore concentrations from Viborg were compared with the Cladosporium spore concentrations from the operational monitoring station in Copenhagen (Zealand, eastern Denmark). During the episode concentrations in Viborg were on average 2,268 spores m-3 higher than in Copenhagen. On the peak day between 8:00-15:00 concentrations in Viborg were 4-7 times higher than in Copenhagen, which we associated with grain crop harvesting in eastern Jutland. Elevated day time concentrations in Viborg on the days with daily average concentrations exceeding the threshold also indicate the local character of the sources.

Aims: We provide an overview of nationwide environmental data available for Denmark and its linkage potentials to individual-level records with the aim of promoting research on the potential impact of the local surrounding environment on human health. Background: Researchers in Denmark have unique opportunities for conducting large population-based studies treating the entire Danish population as one big, open and dynamic cohort based on nationally complete population and health registries. So far, most research in this area has utilised individual- and family-level information to study the clustering of disease in families, comorbidities, risk of, and prognosis after, disease onset, and social gradients in disease risk. Linking environmental data in time and space to individuals enables novel possibilities for studying the health effects of the social, built and physical environment. Methods: We describe the possible linkage between individuals and their local surrounding environment to establish the exposome – that is, the total environmental exposure of an individual over their life course. Conclusions: The currently available nationwide longitudinal environmental data in Denmark constitutes a valuable and globally rare asset that can help explore the impact of the exposome on human health.