The Association Between Personal Measurements of Environmental Exposure to Particulates and Heart Rate Variability

Details

• Personal Author:
  Christiani, David C. ; Hauser R ; Magari SR ; Schwartz J ; Smith, Thomas J. ; Williams PL
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic evidence indicates that airborne particulates are associated with mortality risk, predominately from heart disease. This may occur through changes in the cardiac autonomic nervous system, witnessed by changes in heart rate variability. METHODS: This short-term longitudinal study used continuous personal particulate matter measurements to examine the effects of exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5) on heart rate and rate variability in 20 relatively young, healthy male workers. Continuous exposure and cardiac monitoring were performed on each subject on a nonwork day. The 5-minute standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval was used as the main measure of heart rate variability. RESULTS: Mixed-effects regression models estimate an average 1.4% (95% confidence limits = -2.1, -0.6) decrease in the 5-minute standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval for each 100 microg/m3 increase in the 3-hour PM2.5 moving average, and small increases in heart rate, after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Predicted effects of exposure were greatest using the 3-hour averaging interval for PM2.5 and decreased in magnitude using shorter and longer intervals. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal an association between cardiac autonomic function and environmental PM2.5 exposure. These observed associations may result from decreased vagal or increased sympathetic tone. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Construction Industry Environmental Exposure Lung Occupational Health Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Airway Obstruction Author Keywords: Particulate Matter Bronchial Asthma Cardiac Autonomic Function Construction Industry Construction Workers Exposure Levels Heart Rate Variability Lung Function Occupational Health PM2.5 Questionnaires Respiratory System Disorders Spirometry

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• ISSN:
  1044-3983
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  305-310
• Volume:
  13
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029559
• Citation:
  Epidemiology 2002 May; 13(3):305-310
• Contact Point Address:
  David Christiani, Occupational Health Program, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Building 1, Room 1402, Boston, MA 02115
• Email:
  dchris@hohp.harvard.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, Boston, MA
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19960930
• Source Full Name:
  Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20000929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:30b419b1b39d4ab3d95809f52c75f3ea741efd6b07a9ebdb7f6def3f39dfe2be8129cf6faef15e4d31a9f5b0b6ed87f14fe1c62b9b7a0f8f9e99a83eb9d4fa88
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190513/cdc_190513_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 293.56 KB ]