Residential distance to major roadways and cardiac structure in African Americans: cross-sectional results from the Jackson Heart Study

Abstract

BackgroundHeart failure (HF) is a significant source of morbidity and mortality among African Americans. Ambient air pollution, including from traffic, is associated with HF, but the mechanisms remain unknown. The objectives of this study were to estimate the cross-sectional associations between residential distance to major roadways with markers of cardiac structure: left ventricular (LV) mass index, LV end-diastolic diameter, LV end-systolic diameter, and LV hypertrophy among African Americans.MethodsWe studied baseline participants of the Jackson Heart Study (recruited 2000–2004), a prospective cohort of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African Americans living in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. All cardiac measures were assessed from echocardiograms. We assessed the associations between residential distance to roads and cardiac structure indicators using multivariable linear regression or multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsAmong 4826 participants, residential distance to road was <150 m for 103 participants, 150–299 m for 158, 300–999 for 1156, and ≥1000 m for 3409. Those who lived <150 m from a major road had mean 1.2 mm (95% CI 0.2, 2.1) greater LV diameter at end-systole compared to those who lived ≥1000 m. We did not observe statistically significant associations between distance to roads and LV mass index, LV end-diastolic diameter, or LV hypertrophy. Results did not materially change after additional adjustment for hypertension and diabetes or exclusion of those with CVD at baseline; results strengthened when modeling distance to A1 roads (such as interstate highways) as the exposure of interest.ConclusionsWe found that residential distance to roads may be associated with LV end-systolic diameter, a marker of systolic dysfunction, in this cohort of African Americans, suggesting a potential mechanism by which exposure to traffic pollution increases the risk of HF.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-017-0226-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association Between Ambient Air Pollution and Cardiac Morpho-Functional Phenotypes

“…Intriguingly, they reported a small increase in pulmonary artery systolic pressure in those living 300 to 999 meters from major roads (compared with those who lived ≥1000 meters)—a finding which may explain the mechanism of RV dilatation in relation to the distance to major roads observed in our study. A follow-up study in the same JHS cohort found a 1.2-mm larger LV end-systolic diameter in participants residing <150 meters from a major road in comparison with those living ≥1000 meters), although no association was detected between indexed LV mass and proximity to major roads 40…”

Residential exposure to air pollution and access to neighborhood greenspace in relation to hair cortisol concentrations during the second and third trimester of pregnancy

“…Descriptive statistics provide an overview of study population characteristics, residential exposure characteristics and geometric mean HCC concentration with 95% confidence interval. Air pollution variables were logarithmically transformed (ln-scale) because of skewed distributions, distance to major roads was logarithmically transformed to reflect the non-linear distance decay of traffic-related exposure to air pollutants [ 58 ].…”

Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease: a Focus on Vulnerable Populations Worldwide

“…Van Hee et al revealed that living within 50 meters of a major roadway is significantly associated with higher left ventricular (LV) mass index but not with ejection fraction (EF) in the MESA Air cohort [70]. Susceptibility for subclinical systolic dysfunction among African Americans was confirmed in the Jackson Heart Study where living near roads was associated with LV end-systolic diameter [89]. Racial/ethnic minority groups, especially blacks, had a higher risk for adverse clinical cardiovascular outcomes due to air pollution compared to non-Hispanic whites in California [90].…”