Air Pollution from Road Traffic and Systemic Inflammation in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis in the European ESCAPE Project

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exposure to particulate matter air pollution (PM) has been associated with cardiovascular diseases. Objectives: In this study we evaluated whether annual exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with systemic inflammation, which is hypothesized to be an intermediate step to cardiovascular disease.METHODS: Six cohorts of adults from Central and Northern Europe were used in this cross-sectional study as part of the larger ESCAPE project (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects). Data on levels of blood markers for systemic inflammation-high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen-were available for 22,561 and 17,428 persons, respectively. Land use regression models were used to estimate cohort participants' long-term exposure to various size fractions of PM, soot, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In addition, traffic intensity on the closest street and traffic load within 100 m from home were used as indicators of traffic air pollution exposure.RESULTS: Particulate air pollution was not associated with systemic inflammation. However, cohort participants living on a busy (>10,000 vehicles/day) road had elevated CRP values (10.2%; 95% CI: 2.4, 18.8%, compared with persons living on a quiet residential street with

Published in

Environmental Health Perspectives
2015, volume: 123, number: 8, pages: 785-791
Publisher: US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE

SLU Authors

• Penell, Johanna

  • Karolinska Institute

UKÄ Subject classification

Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Epidemiology
Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408224

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/83981