Acute cardiovascular health effects in a panel study of personal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants and noise in Toronto, Canada

Abstract

Urban populations are often simultaneously exposed to air pollution and environmental noise, which are independently associated with cardiovascular disease. Few studies have examined acute physiologic responses to both air and noise pollution using personal exposure measures. We conducted a repeated measures panel study of air pollution and noise in 46 non-smoking adults in Toronto, Canada. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models and weighted cumulative exposure modeling of recent exposure. We examined acute changes in cardiovascular health effects of personal (ultrafine particles, black carbon) and regional (PM2.5, NO2, O3, Ox) measurements of air pollution and the role of personal noise exposure as a confounder of these associations. We observed adverse changes in subclinical cardiovascular outcomes in response to both air pollution and noise, including changes in endothelial function and heart rate variability (HRV). Our findings show that personal noise exposures can confound associations for air pollutants, particularly with HRV, and that impacts of air pollution and noise on HRV occur soon after exposure. Thus, both noise and air pollution have a measurable impact on cardiovascular physiology. Noise should be considered alongside air pollution in future studies to elucidate the combined impacts of these exposures in urban environments.

Co-Exposure to Multiple Pollutants and Its Cardiovascular Effects in a Subway System — Beijing Municipality, China, 2017

“…The study found that BC mediated most of the cardiovascular health damage, followed by noise. The effects of BC and noise on cardiac autonomic nerve function have also been demonstrated in other studies (5)(6)(7). BC is mainly emitted by traffic transport, where a high level of noise is usually produced simultaneously.…”

Health impact assessment of Delhi’s outdoor workers exposed to air pollution and extreme weather events: an integrated epidemiology approach

“…In Indian megacities like Delhi, the increased number of vehicles, resuspension of dust particles, construction activities, biomass burning, and other unregulated anthropogenic activities have been responsible for the deteriorating ambient air quality (Liu et al 2018;Tonne 2017;Jain 2017;Jain et al 2016;Kumar et al 2013). In the last two decades, the air pollution level in Delhi has augmented drastically, leading to increased morbidity in the form of chronic respiratory diseases, acute cardiovascular events, reproductive and developmental damage, allergies, and cancers, as well to a higher mortality rate (Jain et al 2021;Jain and Sharma, 2020;Biel et al 2020;Kumar and Mishra 2018;Landrigan et al 2017;Jain et al 2016;Aggarwal and Jain 2015).…”

Short-Term Cumulative Exposure to Ambient Traffic-Related Black Carbon and Blood Pressure: MMDA Traffic Enforcers’ Health Study

“…Several studies concluded that exposure to BC is associated with cardiovascular effects [9,31,32]. Although the evidence linking BC to subclinical cardiovascular endpoints is more limited than that for PM 2.5 , BC is of interest from a health perspective because multiple studies report associations between combustion-related air pollution and health effects [31,[33][34][35].…”