Influence of short-term exposure to ultrafine and fine particles on systemic inflammation

Abstract

Daily to monthly variations in fine particulate matter have been linked to systemic inflammatory responses. It has been hypothesized that smaller particles resulting from combustion processes confer higher toxicity. We aim to analyze the association between short-term exposure to ultrafine and fine particles and systemic inflammation. We use baseline data (2000-2003) of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study, a population-based cohort study of 4,814 participants in the Ruhr Area in Germany. A chemistry transport model was applied to model daily surface concentrations of particulate air pollutants on a grid of 1 km(2). Exposure included particle number (PN) and particulate matter mass concentration with an aerodynamic diameter < or = 2.5 microm (PM(2.5)) and < or = 10 microm (PM(10)). Generalized additive models were used to explore the relation of air pollutants using single day lags and averaging times of up to 28 days with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). We adjusted for meteorology, season, time trend, and personal characteristics. Median hs-CRP level in the 3,999 included participants was 1.5 mg/l. Median daily concentration of PN was 8,414 x 10(4)/ml (IQR 4,580 x 10(4)/ml), of PM(2.5) 14.5 microg/m(3) (IQR 11.5 microg/m(3)) and of PM(10) 18.5 microg/m(3) (IQR 13.9 microg/m(3)). A positive association between PN and hs-CRP could be observed only for single day lags and for averaged PN concentrations with higher estimates for longer averaging times. The highest hs-CRP-increase of 7.1% (95%-CI: 1.9, 12.6%) was found for the 21-day average. These results support the hypothesis that short-term exposure to traffic-related particles might lead to detrimental cardiovascular health effects via an inflammatory mechanism.

Comparison of Land-Use Regression Modeling with Dispersion and Chemistry Transport Modeling to Assign Air Pollution Concentrations within the Ruhr Area

“…In contrast to the temporal variation over the considered time period, the spatial variation, presented by the two locations of a background and traffic site, is considerably smaller. This finding is in line with earlier findings, indicating a slightly higher temporal, than spatial, variation of particle number concentrations within the Ruhr area [42].…”

Die Gutenberg Gesundheitsstudie

“…Hierfür ist die systematische Er fassung populationsbasierter Daten ver bunden mit einer Sammlung von Bio proben zu einem unverzichtbaren In strument geworden. Biomaterialbanken, die auf prospektiven Kohortenstudien basieren, haben in den letzten Jahren in der biomedizinischen Wissenschaft als Teil der wissenschaftlichen Infrastruk tur wachsende Bedeutung zur Untersu chung molekularer und genetischer Fak toren erlangt [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Der fol gende Beitrag beschreibt die Gutenberg Gesundheitsstudie, die an der Universi tätsmedizin Mainz durchgeführt wird.…”

Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease

“…The PM-induced pulmonary inflammation is followed by the release of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (van Eeden et al 2001) in the circulation, resulting in the release of bone-marrow derived neutrophils and monocytes (Tan et al 2000). The generation of a systemic inflammatory response, mostly demonstrated by increases in C-reactive protein (CRP) (Peters et al 2001b, Hertel et al 2010, is of major importance in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular events. Upon PM exposure, IL-6 translocates from the lung into the systemic circulation (Kido et al 2011) and is directly involved in the regulation of the synthesis of CRP in the liver.…”