Associations of exposure to PM and its compounds with carotid intima-media thickness among middle-aged adults

Kyeezu Kim, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, South Korea; Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Jie Yao, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, USA.
David R. Jacobs, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Randall V. Martin, Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA.
Aaron van Donkelaar, Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA.
Wei-Chung Su, Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
Chunchao Zhang, Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's National Medical Center/Children's National Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Xiang Chen, Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community and Urban Studies, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
Venkatesh L. Murthy, Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Xuehong Zhang, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Yale University School of Nursing, Orange, CT, USA.
Donald Lloyd-Jones, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Lifang Hou, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Kai Zhang, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY, USA. Electronic address: kzhang9@albany.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-10-2024

Journal

The Science of the total environment

Volume

955

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177098

Keywords

Black carbon; Cardiovascular health; Fine particulate matter; PM(2.5); Population observational study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) has been linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis. However, it remains unclear whether specific compounds within PM, rather than the overall mass, serve as a better indicator of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes associated with air pollution. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we included 3257 participants (aged 37-51 years) from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Exposure to PM and its constituent compounds, black carbon (BC), ammonium, nitrate, organic matter, sulfate, mineral dust, and sea salt were included in the analyses. Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT; the average of common, bulb, and internal carotid) was measured by carotid ultrasonography. We assessed the cross-sectional associations of one-year exposure to PM and its compounds with mean cIMT using linear regression models adjusting for participants' demographics, individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status, behavioral components, and health conditions. We also adopted Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models to investigate the association between the PM compound mixture and cIMT as well as the contribution of each compound to the association. RESULTS: Greater exposure to BC was associated with higher cIMT (mm) (β =0.034, 95 % CI = 0.019-0.049, per IQR increase [0.56 μg/m] of BC) among participants with a mean age of 45.0, consisting of 45.9 % Black and 54.1 % White males and females. The association was generally consistent across participants' demographic characteristics. In our BKMR analysis, BC exhibited a dose-response association with cIMT with a high contribution to the association of cIMT with PM compound as a mixture (posterior inclusion probability [PIP]: 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that certain compounds of PM, such as BC, may offer more reliable indications of the impact of air pollution on cardiovascular health.

Department

Pediatrics

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS