PMID: 

Environ Res. 2017 04 ;154:226-233. Epub 2017 Jan 17. PMID: 28107740

Abstract Title: 

Ambient air pollution and primary liver cancer incidence in four European cohorts within the ESCAPE project.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoke exposure increases the risk of cancer in the liver, but little is known about the possible risk associated with exposure to ambient air pollution.OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the association between residential exposure to air pollution and primary liver cancer incidence.METHODS: We obtained data from four cohorts with enrolment during 1985-2005 in Denmark, Austria and Italy. Exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOand NO), particulate matter (PM) with diameter of less than 10µm (PM), less than 2.5µm (PM), between 2.5 and 10µm (PM) and PM(soot) at baseline home addresses were estimated using land-use regression models from the ESCAPE project. We also investigated traffic density on the nearest road. We used Cox proportional-hazards models with adjustment for potential confounders for cohort-specific analyses and random-effects meta-analyses to estimate summary hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).RESULTS: Out of 174,770 included participants, 279 liver cancer cases were diagnosed during a mean follow-up of 17 years. In each cohort, HRs above one were observed for all exposures with exception of PMand traffic density. In the meta-analysis, all exposures were associated with elevated HRs, but none of the associations reached statistical significance. The summary HR associated with a 10-μg/mincrease in NOwas 1.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93, 1.30) and 1.34 (95% CI: 0.76, 2.35) for a 5-μg/mincrease in PM.CONCLUSIONS: The results provide suggestive evidence that ambient air pollution may increase the risk of liver cancer. Confidence intervals for associations with NOand NOwere narrower than for the other exposures.

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PMID: 

Environ Health Perspect. 2017 10 13 ;125(10):107005. Epub 2017 Oct 13. PMID: 29033383

Abstract Title: 

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Incidence of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in 15 European Cohorts within the ESCAPE Project.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk is inconsistent.OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women.METHODS: In 15 cohorts from nine European countries, individual estimates of air pollution levels at the residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts– Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter (TRANSPHORM) projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5μm, ≤10μm, and 2.5–10μm in diameter (PM, PM, and PM, respectively); PMabsorbance; nitrogen oxides (NOand NO); traffic intensity; and elemental composition of PM. We estimated cohort-specific associations between breast cancer and air pollutants using Cox regression models, adjusting for major lifestyle risk factors, and pooled cohort-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analyses.RESULTS: Of 74,750 postmenopausal women included in the study, 3,612 developed breast cancer during 991,353 person-years of follow-up. We found positive and statistically insignificant associations between breast cancer and PM{hazard ratio (HR)=1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77, 1.51] per 5 μg/m}, PM[1.07 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.30) per 10 μg/m], PM[1.20 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.49 per 5 μg/m], and NO[1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.07 per 10 μg/m], and a statistically significant association with NO[1.04 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.08) per 20 μg/m,=0.04].CONCLUSIONS: We found suggestive evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women. https://ift.tt/2ykrg3d.

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PMID: 

Environ Int. 2018 11 ;120:163-171. Epub 2018 Aug 7. PMID: 30096610

Abstract Title: 

Particulate matter air pollution components and incidence of cancers of the stomach and the upper aerodigestive tract in the European Study of Cohorts of Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE).

Abstract: 

INTRODUCTION: Previous analysis from the large European multicentre ESCAPE study showed an association of ambient particulate matter

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PMID: 

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Jan ;27(1):798-811. Epub 2019 Dec 6. PMID: 31811609

Abstract Title: 

Effects of long-term exposure to air pollution on the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Abstract: 

This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively assess the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Studies were selected from three electronic databases. Random- or fixed-effect model was used to obtain the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidential intervals (CIs). Stratified analyses by regions of the studies and length of follow-up were conducted to assess the effects in different subgroups. Sensitivity analyses by omitted studies one by one, as well as adjusting certain confounding factors, were also conducted. The search resulted in 1878 studies, among which 16 studies with 18 cohorts were included. The incidence of T2DM was significantly associated with 10μg/mincrease of PM(overall HR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.19) and PM(overall HR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.23) exposure. Stratified analyses confirmed that PMwas significantly associated with increased T2DM incidence in American countries but not European countries. The results in the long follow-up subgroup also confirmed that exposure of PMand PMwas associated with increased T2DM incidence. Interestingly, educational level and gender could potentially affect the impacts of PMand PMon T2DM incidence. The findings show long-term exposure to PM, and PMcould significantly increase the incidence of T2DM, especially in cohorts with long follow-up time.

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PMID: 

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Feb 6. Epub 2020 Feb 6. PMID: 32030582

Abstract Title: 

The effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on measles cases in Lanzhou, China.

Abstract: 

By collecting daily data on measles cases, air pollutants, and meteorological data from 2005 to 2009 in Chengguan District of Lanzhou City, semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAM) was used to quantitatively study the impact of air pollutants and meteorological factors on daily measles cases. The results showed that air pollutants and meteorological factors had effect on the number of daily measles cases, and there was a certain lag effect. Except for SOand relative humidity, other factors showed statistically significant associations with daily measles cases: NOlag 6 days, PMand maximum temperature lag 5 days, minimum temperature and average temperature and average air pressure lag 4 days, visibility, and wind speed lag 3 days had the greatest impact on the number of daily measles cases. Under the optimum lag conditions, the number of daily measles cases increased by 15.1%, 17.6%, 7.0%, 116.6%,98.6%, 85.7%, and 14.4% with the increase of 1 IQR in SO, NO, PM, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, average temperature, and wind speed; with the increase of 1 IQR in average pressure, relative humidity, visibility, and daily measles cases decreased by 12.8%, 9.7%, and 13.1%, respectively. And different factors showed different seasonal effects. The effects of SOand temperature factors on daily measles cases were greater in spring and winter, but PMin summer.

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PMID: 

Part Fibre Toxicol. 2020 Jan 29 ;17(1):8. Epub 2020 Jan 29. PMID: 31996222

Abstract Title: 

Effects of PMand gases exposure during prenatal and early-life on autism-like phenotypes in male rat offspring.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have reported associations between elevated air pollution and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, we hypothesized that exposure to air pollution that mimics real world scenarios, is a potential contributor to ASD. The exact etiology and molecular mechanisms underlying ASD are not well understood. Thus, we assessed whether changes in OXTR levels may be part of the mechanism linking PM/gaseous pollutant exposure and ASD. The current in-vivo study investigated the effect of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants on ASD using behavioral and molecular experiments. Four exposure groups of Wistar rats were included in this study: 1) particulate matter and gaseous pollutants exposed (PGE), 2) gaseous pollutants only exposed (GE), 3) autism-like model (ALM) with VPA induction, and 4) clean air exposed (CAE) as the control. Pregnant dams and male pups were exposed to air pollutants from embryonic day (E0) to postnatal day (PND21).RESULTS: The average ± SD concentrations of air pollutants were: PM: 43.8 ± 21.1 μg/m, CO: 13.5 ± 2.5 ppm, NO: 0.341 ± 0.100 ppm, SO: 0.275 ± 0.07 ppm, and O: 0.135 ± 0.01 ppm. The OXTR protein level, catalase activity (CAT), and GSH concentrations in the ALM, PGE, and GE rats were lower than those in control group (CAE). However, the decrements in the GE rats were smaller than other groups. Also in behavioral assessments, the ALM, PGE, and GE rats demonstrated a repetitive /restricted behavior and poor social interaction, but the GE rats had weaker responses compared to other groups of rats. The PGE and GE rats showed similar trends in these tests compared to the VPA rats.CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that exposure to ambient air pollution contributed to ASD and that OXTR protein may serve as part of the mechanism linking them.

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PMID: 

Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2019 ;10:2042018819892151. Epub 2019 Dec 30. PMID: 31908756

Abstract Title: 

Effects of PMand PMon congenital hypothyroidism in Qingdao, China, 2014-2017: a quantitative analysis.

Abstract: 

Background: We aimed to quantify the impact of PMand PMpollution on congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in Qingdao in the period 2014-2017.Methods: A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) with time-series Poisson regression was conducted to quantify the association between PMand PMvariables in the month when cases of CH were born or in the two preceding the months (lag0, lag1 and lag2) and monthly morbidity of people with CH across different populations.Results: A total of 480,633 newborns were screened for CH during 2014-2017 in Qingdao, and there were 268 cases of CH diagnosed. The count of days per month for which average concentrations of PMand PMexceed legal limits were positively associated with monthly CH morbidity at lag1 month among all the populations, and the adjusted relative risks (RRs) with exposure per 10 μg/mwere close among different populations. However, the number of days per month of PMand PMconcentrations exceeding limits were negatively associated with CH morbidity. Additionally, the RRs of CH increase with worsening air pollution.Conclusions: Concentrations of PMand PMexceeding the legal limits are significantly associated with CH in Qingdao. Moreover, it suggests that sudden and short-term particulate matter pollution events with high levels of particulates exceeding the legal limits may be related to risk of CH.

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PMID: 

BMC Public Health. 2019 Nov 19 ;19(1):1412. Epub 2019 Nov 19. PMID: 31739791

Abstract Title: 

Maternal exposure to PMmay increase the risk of congenital hypothyroidism in the offspring: a national database based study in China.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Maternal exposure to air pollution is related to fetal dysplasia. However, the association between maternal exposure to air pollution and the risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the offspring is largely unknown.
METHODS: We conducted a national database based study in China to explore the association between these two parameters. The incidence of CH was collected from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015 from the Chinese Maternal and Child Health Surveillance Network. Considering that total period of pregnancy and consequently the total period of particle exposure is approximately 10 months, average exposure levels of PM, PMand Air Quality Index (AQI) were collected from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2015. Generalized additive model was used to evaluate the association between air pollution and the incidence of CH, and constructing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the cut-off value.
RESULTS: The overall incidence of CH was 4.31 per 10,000 screened newborns in China from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015. For every increase of 1 μg/min the PMexposure during gestation could increase the risk of CH (adjusted OR = 1.016 per 1 μg/mchange, 95% CI, 1.001-1.031). But no significant associations were found with regard to PM(adjusted OR = 1.009, 95% CI, 0.996-1.018) or AQI (adjusted OR = 1.012, 95% CI,0.998-1.026) and the risk of CH in the offspring. The cut-off value of prenatal PMexposure for predicting the risk of CH in the offspring was 61.165 μg/m.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggested that maternal exposure to PMmay exhibit a positive association with increased risk of CH in the offspring. We also proposed a cut-off value of PMexposure that might determine reduction in the risk of CH in the offspring in highly polluted areas.

PMID: 

Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 07 1 ;200(1):24-32. PMID: 30871339

Abstract Title: 

Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Asthma Mortality.

Abstract: 

Short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with asthma exacerbation and increased healthcare use caused by asthma, but its effect on asthma mortality remains largely unknown.To quantitatively assess the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and asthma mortality.We investigated 4,454 individuals who lived in Hubei province, China, and died from asthma between 2013 and 2018. A case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models were applied for data analyses. Exposures to particulate matter≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM), particulate matter≤10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O) were estimated by inverse distance weighted averages of all monitoring stations within 50 km from each case's home address.Each interquartile range (IQR) increase of PM(lag 3; IQR, 47.1μg/m), NO(lag 03; IQR, 26.3μg/m), and O(lag 3; IQR, 52.9μg/m) were positively associated with asthma mortality, with odds ratios of 1.07 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.12), 1.11 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.22), and 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.18), respectively. There was no evidence of departure from linearity for these associations. Further adjustment for other pollutants did not change the associations materially. We did not observe significant associations between PM, SO, and CO exposures and asthma mortality. Overall, the estimates remained consistent in various sensitivity analyses.Our results provide new evidence that short-term exposures to PM, NO, and Omay increase asthma mortality risk. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings in other populations.

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PMID: 

Environ Pollut. 2017 Dec ;231(Pt 2):1344-1350. Epub 2017 Sep 22. PMID: 28947318

Abstract Title: 

Air pollution and outpatient visits for conjunctivitis: A case-crossover study in Hangzhou, China.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: Conjunctivitis, one of the most common ocular surface diseases, can be caused by many factors.OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential association between conjunctivitis and air pollutants.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of 9737 outpatient visits for conjunctivitis from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016 were obtained from the Eye Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. The data were linked to data on the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O), sulfur dioxide (SO), and fine particulate matter with a median aerometric diameter of less than 10 and 2.5 μm (PMand PM, respectively), which were obtained from the Environmental Protection Department of Zhejiang Province. A time-stratified case-crossover study design and conditional logistic regression were applied to analyze the association between air pollutants and outpatient visits for conjunctivitis.RESULTS: A 10 μg/mincrease in PM, PM, SO, NO, and CO concentrations on the same day as the hospital visit or on lag days before the hospital visit date was associated with outpatient visits for conjunctivitis. The strongest association was observed between SOand conjunctivitis patients aged 2-5 years. Variation occurs between warm and cold seasons, between genders, and among different age groups.CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided evidence that outpatient visits for conjunctivitis were significantly associated with air pollution in Hangzhou, China.

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