Short-term exposure to air pollution and digital vascular function in the Framingham Heart Study

Petter Ljungman; Elissa Wilker; Mary B. Rice; Joel Schwartz; Diane R. Gold; Petros Koutrakis; Emelia Benjamin; Joseph Vita; Gary Mitchell; Murray A. Mittleman

doi:10.1289/isee.2013.o-4-21-03

Abstract

2 min read

Background Air pollution has been shown to have acute vascular effects. However, there are few community-based studies of the impact on small vessel function. Aims To investigate associations between ambient air pollution and small vessel function measured by peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) in the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation Cohorts. Methods A total of 1940 participants living within 40 km of the Harvard Supersite were included of which 992 were free of antihypertensive or statin medications. Hourly data from the monitors were used to calculate moving averages of air pollution for 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 days before PAT measurement for PM2.5, Black Carbon (BC), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The ratio of the fingertip pulse wave amplitude pre- and post- forearm occlusion was divided by the same ratio in the contralateral non-occluded arm and log transformed for normality (PAT ratio). We fit multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes, lipids, cohort, long term time trends, day of week, season, temperature, and relative humidity to estimate associations with air pollutants. Results Results were close to the null with wide confidence intervals in the full sample. However, in participants not taking antihypertensive or statin medications, 1 to 3 day moving averages of PM2.5 , were all consistently associated with PAT. The strongest associations were seen for 2 day moving averages of PM2.5 with 11.6% higher baseline pulse amplitude per 5 µg/m3 (CI 5.1 to 18.5%) and 6.5% lower hyperemic response (PAT ratio) per 5µg/m3 (CI -3.2 to -9.6%). Similar results were seen for BC and NO2. Results were not materially altered when current smokers or participants with diabetes were excluded. Conclusions Short-term exposures to air pollution were associated with impaired microvascular response in participants not taking antihypertensive or statin medications in the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts.

Related publications

Article2014

Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Digital Vascular Function

Petter Ljungman, Elissa H. Wilker, Mary B. Rice, Joel Schwartz, Diane R. Gold, Petros Koutrakis, Joseph A. Vita, Gary F. Mitchell, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Emelia Benjamin, Murray A. Mittleman, Naomi M. Hamburg

Article2011

SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE TO AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN THE FRAMINGHAM HEART STUDY

Joshua I. Rosenbloom, Elissa H. Wilker, Gary F. Mitchell, Brent A. Coull, Naomi A Hamberg, Joel Schwartz, Emelia Benjamin, Diane R. Gold, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Petros Koutrakis, Joseph A. Vita, Murray A. Mittleman, Daniel E. Levy

Article2017

Abstract P066: Shot-term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Circulating Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation: The Framingham Heart Study

Wenyuan Li, Elissa H. Wilker, Kirsten Dorans, Mary B. Rice, Petter Ljungman, Joel Schwartz, Brent A. Coull, Petros Koutrakis, Diane R. Gold, Emelia Benjamin, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Murray A. Mittleman

Article2014

Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Arterial Stiffness

Petter Ljungman, Elissa Wilker, Mary B. Rice, Joel Schwartz, Diane R. Gold, Petros Koutrakis, Joseph Vita, Emelia Benjamin, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Daniel Levy, Gary Mitchell, Murray A. Mittleman, Naomi Hamburg

Article2013

The Impact of Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution on Conduit Artery and Microvascular Function

Elissa H. Wilker, Petter Ljungman, Itai Kloog, Joel Schwartz, Diane R. Gold, Petros Koutrakis, Joseph Vita, Gary Mitchell, Emelia Benjamin, Naomi M. Hamburg, Murray A. Mittleman