Influence of Particulate Matter Air Pollution on Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Depending on Aerodynamic Diameter and the Time of Exposure in the Selected Population with Coexistent Cardiovascular Diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Particulate matter air pollution constitutes an important factor affecting the course of various respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Two main monitored groups of particulate pollution are particulate matter with the aerodynamic diameter below 10 μm (PM10) and 2.5 μm (PM2.5). One of the most important respiratory diseases is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Clinical presentation of COPD and cardiovascular diseases is similar and can cause complications during therapy. The study explores connection between particulate matter and COPD exacerbations in population with cardiovascular cause of symptoms excluded. Material and methods: Analysis was based on data from hospitalisations in the years 2006-2016 in the hospitals of Upper Silesian Agglomeration, Poland. The data were correlated with meteorological conditions and particulate matter concentrations up to 90 days before hospital admission. Results: During the whole observation period no connection between PM10 concentration changes and COPD exacerbations were observed. On the other hand PM 2,5 influence started to be significant on 14 day before admission (RR 1.06) and increased up to maximal analysed period of 90 days (RR 1.32). Conclusions: Overall this study highlights the importance of particulate matter pollution emission impact on COPD exacerbations in a long time perspective.

Particulate matter pollution and the COVID-19 outbreak: results from Italian regions and provinces

“…Second, PM exposure has been causally linked to several organ dysfunctions, mostly involving the respiratory system [6][7][8][27][28][29], the latter being responsible for the severe course of COVID-19 [2,30]. Third, pathophysiological and epidemiological links between PM exposure and viral infections have been observed [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Fourth, recent findings of an association between indices of airborne pollution and COVID-19 incidence and fatality have been published [15,16].…”

“…chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, etc.) [19,32]; 4) activation of the systemic inflammation cascade [33,34]; and 5) formation of PM-viral complexes facilitating viral spread [20]. Each of these putative mechanisms linking PM exposure to COVID-19 are highly intriguing although still undemonstrated.…”

“…Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19). The COVID-19 numbers are continuously evolving worldwide (about 4 million confirmed cases and 260,000 deaths as of 9 th May 2020), and Italy has registered a huge number of COVID-19 cases and deaths as compared to other countries [1].…”

“…Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the detrimental association between PM and viral infections: modifications of the respiratory immune response to microbial pathogens [10,17], increased airways vulnerability to respiratory infections [18], exacerbation of multiple comorbidities [19], and additional under-researched mechanisms (e.g. increased viral spread due to attachment of viral particles to PM condensation nuclei) [20].…”

Kefir peptides alleviate particulate matter <4 μm (PM4.0)-induced pulmonary inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway using luciferase transgenic mice

“…In recent years, particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution, has caused great concern and has been associated with a reduction in pulmonary function and exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 1,2 . Air pollutants also increased the incidence of various gastrointestinal diseases and liver fibrosis and increased the morbidity and mortality of lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, making PM a threat to human health 3,4 .…”