Vascular and lung function related to ultrafine and fine particles exposure assessed by personal and indoor monitoring: a cross-sectional study.

Yulia Olsen,Peter Møller,Steffen Loft,Gabriel Bekö,Torben Sigsgaard,Lars-Georg Hersoug,Geo Clausen,Gitte Juel Holst,Ditte Marie Jensen,Birthe Uldahl Kjeldsen,Allan Linneberg,Aneta Wierzbicka,Dorina Gabriela Karottki

doi:10.1186/1476-069x-13-112

Abstract

BackgroundExposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been linked to decline in pulmonary function and cardiovascular events possibly through inflammation. Little is known about individual exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) inside and outside modern homes and associated health-related effects.MethodsAssociations between vascular and lung function, inflammation markers and exposure in terms of particle number concentration (PNC; d = 10-300 nm) were studied in a cross-sectional design with personal and home indoor monitoring in the Western Copenhagen Area, Denmark. During 48-h, PNC and PM2.5 were monitored in living rooms of 60 homes with 81 non-smoking subjects (30-75 years old), 59 of whom carried personal monitors both when at home and away from home. We measured lung function in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio, microvascular function (MVF) and pulse amplitude by digital artery tonometry, blood pressure and biomarkers of inflammation including C-reactive protein, and leukocyte counts with subdivision in neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes in blood.ResultsPNC from personal and stationary home monitoring showed weak correlation (r = 0.15, p = 0.24). Personal UFP exposure away from home was significantly inversely associated with MVF (1.3% decline per interquartile range, 95% confidence interval: 0.1-2.5%) and pulse amplitude and positively associated with leukocyte and neutrophil counts. The leukocyte and neutrophil counts were also positively and pulse amplitude negatively associated with total personal PNC. Indoor PNC and PM2.5 showed positive association with blood pressure and inverse association with eosinophil counts.ConclusionsThe inverse association between personal exposure away from home and MVF is consistent with adverse health effects of UFP from sources outside the home and might be related to increased inflammation indicated by leukocyte counts, whereas UFP from sources in the home could have less effect.

Highlights

Exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been linked to decline in pulmonary function and cardiovascular events possibly through inflammation
The ultrafine particles (UFP) mass is small compared to the larger particulate fractions and UFP exposure is poorly represented by mass concentration, leaving particle number concentration (PNC) and surface area as potentially more accurate defining metrics emphasizing their hazardous nature [1,9]
Two of the subjects were excluded from the analyses of healthrelated outcomes due to use of angiotensin II receptor antagonist revealed after sample collection and recent infection treated with antibiotics and resulting in a high C-reactive protein (CRP) level

Summary

Introduction

Exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been linked to decline in pulmonary function and cardiovascular events possibly through inflammation. Little is known about individual exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) inside and outside modern homes and associated health-related effects. Deleterious effects of ambient air pollution and especially particulate matter (PM) are documented by a large and continuously growing number of studies [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The vast body of epidemiological evidence on health effects of PM relies on exposure assessment based on monitored or modeled ambient levels of mainly PM10 and PM2.5 [1]. The UFP levels in the studies that found association with health outcomes show high spatial and temporal variation demonstrating the necessity of advanced exposure assessment models [1]

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Results