Abstract
We assessed whether visceral adipose tissue (VAT) compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) has modifying effects on the cross-sectional association between ambient air pollution and hypertension in Korean men. This study included 1,417 adult men who visited a health checkup center. Abdominal fat depots were measured by computed tomography, and we used the annual average concentrations of ambient air pollutants such as particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide (CO). The annual mean concentrations of PM10 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12–1.52) and CO (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.03–1.39) showed a positive association with hypertension. In particular, modifying effects on hypertension were found between PM10 and VAT-related traits such as VAT and visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio (VSR). The association between PM10 and hypertension was much stronger in the high-VAT (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.12–2.71) and high-VSR groups (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.23–1.91). However, the strength of association across levels of SAT was not observed (Pint = 0.4615). In conclusion, we found that association between PM10 exposure and hypertension is different by abdominal fat distribution.
Highlights
Ambient air pollution, including particulate matter (PM), is a serious health burden worldwide and has recently emerged as the biggest social issue in the Korean society[1]
We investigated the associations of ambient air pollution and hypertension in adult Korean men and whether these associations were differently modified by each fat depot, including visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)
In the subgroup analysis classified according to the level of visceral abdominal fat, we observed that the associations between PM10 concentration and hypertension were much stronger in the high-VAT group than in the low-VAT group
Summary
Ambient air pollution, including particulate matter (PM), is a serious health burden worldwide and has recently emerged as the biggest social issue in the Korean society[1]. A growing number of epidemiological studies have identified the deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on hypertension[6,7,8]. The subcutaneous fat compartments might even play a protective role in health outcomes[16] Within this context, the modification effect of obesity on the association between air pollution and hypertension may be differentiated by adiposity traits; studies using the accurate measurement of fat mass measured by computed tomography (CT) are needed. This study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional association between ambient air pollution and hypertension in Korean men and to identify whether these relations are modified by abdominal fat distribution, especially visceral fat
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