Traffic-Related Air Pollution Is Associated with Aortic Distensibility in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barr RG ; Bertoni A ; Kaufman J ; Lima J ; Magzamen S ; O'Neill M ; Szpiro A
• Description:
  Background/Aims: Long-term exposure to ambient and traffic-related air pollution is associated with cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms remain uncertain. Research has demonstrated that measures of aortic distensibility and its reciprocal, aortic wall stiffness provide prognostic information independent of traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that exposure to traffic-related air pollution was associated with impaired aortic distensibility on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: We measured proximal aortic distensibility in baseline cardiac MRI examinations of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, among 3677 adults without clinical cardiovascular disease, aged 45-84 years. Distensibility is aortic strain divided by the product of minimal aortic lumen area and central pulse pressure. Of total, 83% (n = 3045) of participants with MRI had accurate address information for exposure assignment. Participants were considered exposed to traffic-related air pollution if their home was located within 100 meters (m) of a major highway, or within 50 m of a major arterial road at the baseline examination. We tested the association between distensibility and road proximity using ordinary least squares regression, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, alcohol consumption, family history, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, diabetes, physical activity, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol, C-reactive protein, homocysteine, and fasting glucose. Results: Mean distensibility for the study population was 1.89 kPA-1·10-3 (standard deviation [SD]: 1.35). Approximately 30% of participants (n = 920) were classified as exposed to traffic-related air pollution. Regression results from the full model indicates that residential proximity to roadways was associated with a 0.116 unit decrease in aortic distensibility (P = 0.02). Results were attenuated when further adjusted for study site (β = -0.103, P = 0.06). Conclusion: Increased aortic stiffness was associated with living very near a major roadway, but not with preliminary predictions of PM2.5 concentrations, which are dominated by larger scale geographic variations in air pollution. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Cohort Studies Epidemiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Cardiovascular Disease Chronic Exposure Cohort Studies Health Effects Particulates Risk Factors
• ISSN:
  1044-3983
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Michigan ; New York ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054892
• Citation:
  Epidemiology 2011 Jan; 22(1)(Jan Suppl 2011):S63
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Epidemiology
• Supplement:
  Jan Suppl 2011
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:46161cdd07b8c403adbf80f8bb55f7917880995d7d0e0627444afdb9b9218daabe6a63c1b8311f21f0038371ac21396247e693d40f51d80036ed4f7d175ed2d5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217305/cdc_217305_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 49.57 KB ]