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Several studies have shown associations between chronic exposure to particulate air pollution and increased mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease (Dockery et al. 1993; Pope et al. 2004; Puett et al. [...]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: RESPIRE, a randomized trial of an improved cookstove, was conducted in Guatemala to assess health effects of long-term reductions in wood smoke exposure. Given the evidence that [...]

BACKGROUND: Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution has been associated with an increased risk of dying from cardiopulmonary and ischemic heart disease, yet few studies have evaluated cardiovascular end points [...]

Introduction Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent in older adults (Thielke et al. 2010) and are an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Specifically, high levels of depressive symptoms [...], BACKGROUND: Exposure to ambient air pollution, particularly from traffic, has been associated with adverse cognitive outcomes, but the association with depressive symptoms remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the association between exposure to ambient air and traffic pollution and the presence of depressive symptoms among 732 Boston-area adults [greater than or equal to] 65 years of age (78.1 [+ or -] 5.5 years, mean [+ or -] SD). METHODS: We assessed depressive symptoms during home interviews using the Revised Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-R). We estimated residential distance to the nearest major roadway as a marker of long-term exposure to traffic pollution and assessed short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter ([PM.sub.2.5]), sulfates, black carbon (BC), ultrafine particles, and gaseous pollutants, averaged over the 2 weeks preceding each assessment. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of a CESD-R score [greater than or equal to] 16 associated with exposure, adjusting for potential confounders. In sensitivity analyses, we considered CESD-R score as a continuous outcome and mean annual residential BC as an alternate marker of long-term exposure to traffic pollution. RESULTS: We found no evidence of a positive association between depressive symptoms and long-term exposure to traffic pollution or short-term changes in pollutant levels. For example, we found an OR of CESD-R score [greater than or equal to] 16 of 0.67 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.98) per interquartile range (3.4 [micro]g/[m.sup.3]) increase in [PM.sub.2.5] over the 2 weeks preceding assessment. CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence suggesting that ambient air pollution is associated with depressive symptoms among older adults living in a metropolitan area in attainment of current U.S. regulatory standards. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1205909.

Introduction Previous studies have reported that associations of cardiovascular mortality with particle pollution (Zanobetti and Schwartz 2001; Zanobetti et al. 2009) and extreme ambient temperatures during heat waves (Medina-Ramon et [...], BACKGROUND: Extreme weather and air pollution are associated with increased cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes. OBJECTIVES: In a population with diabetes, we conducted a novel assessment of vascular brachial artery responses both to ambient pollution and to weather (temperature and water vapor pressure, a measure of humidity). METHODS: Sixty-four 49- to 85-year-old Boston residents with type 2 diabetes completed up to five study visits (279 repeated measures). Brachial artery diameter (BAD) was measured by ultrasound before and after brachial artery occlusion [i.e., flow-mediated dilation (FMD)] and before and after nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD). Ambient concentrations of fine particulate mass ([PM.sub.2.5]), black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon, particle number, and sulfate were measured at our monitoring site; ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone were obtained from state monitors. Particle exposure in the home and during each trip to the clinic (home/trip exposure) was measured continuously and as a 5-day integrated sample. We used linear models with fixed effects for participants, adjusting for date, season, temperature, and water vapor pressure on the day of each visit, to estimate associations between our outcomes and interquartile range increases in exposure. RESULTS: Baseline BAD was negatively associated with particle pollution, including home/trip--integrated BC (-0.02 mm; 95% CI: -0.04, -0.003, for a 0.28 µg/[m.sup.3] increase in BC), OC (-0.08 mm; 95% CI: -0.14, -0.03, for a 1.61 µg/[m.sup.3] increase) as well as [PM.sub.2.5], 5-day average ambient [PM.sub.2.5], and BC. BAD was positively associated with ambient temperature and water vapor pressure. However, exposures were not consistently associated with FMD or NMD. CONCLUSION: Brachial artery diameter, a predictor of cardiovascular risk, decreased in association with particle pollution and increased in association with ambient temperature in our study population of adults with type 2 diabetes. 10.1289/ehp.1206136

Introduction Exposure to particulate air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in numerous epidemiologic studies (Brook 2004; Brook et al. 2010; Dockery et al. 1993; Pope and [...], BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that air pollution is associated with atherosclerosis and that traffic-related particles are a particularly important contributor to the association. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the association between long-term exposure to black carbon, a correlate of traffic particles, and intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (CIMT) in elderly men residing in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. METHODS: We estimated 1-year average exposures to black carbon at the home addresses of Normative Aging Study participants before their first CIMT measurement. The association between estimated black carbon levels and CIMT was estimated using mixed effects models to account for repeated outcome measures. In secondary analyses, we examined whether living close to a major road or average daily traffic within 100 m of residence was associated with CIMT. RESULTS: There were 380 participants (97% self-reported white race) with an initial visit between 2004 and 2008. Two or three follow-up CIMT measurements 1.5 years apart were available for 340 (89%) and 260 (68%) men, respectively. At first examination, the average ± SD age was 76 ± 6.4 years and the mean ± SD CIMT was 0.99 ± 0.18 mm. A one-interquartile range increase in 1-year average black carbon (0.26 µg/[m.sup.3]) was associated with a 1.1% higher CIMT (95% CI: 0.4, 1.7%) based on a fully adjusted model. CONCLUSIONS: Annual mean black carbon concentration based on spatially resolved exposure estimates was associated with CIMT in a population of elderly men. These findings support an association between long-term air pollution exposure and atherosclerosis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104845

Background: Air pollution exposure has been associated with increased blood pressure in adults. Objective: We examined associations of antenatal exposure to ambient air pollution with newborn systolic blood pressure (SBP). Methods: We studied 1,131 mother-infant pairs in a Boston, Massachusetts, area pre-birth cohort. We calculated average exposures by trimester and during the 2 to 90 days before birth for temporally resolved fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm; PM2.5), black carbon (BC), nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide, ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide measured at stationary monitoring sites, and for spatiotemporally resolved estimates of PM2.5 and BC at the residence level. We measured SBP at a mean age of 30 ± 18 hr with an automated device. We used mixed-effects models to examine associations between air pollutant exposures and SBP, taking into account measurement circumstances; child's birth weight; mother's age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and thirdtrimester BP; and time trend. Estimates represent differences in SBP associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in each pollutant. Results: Higher mean PM2.5 and BC exposures during the third trimester were associated with higher SBP (e.g., 1.0 mmHg; 95% CI: 0.1, 1.8 for a 0.32-μg/m3 increase in mean 90-day residential BC). In contrast, O3 was negatively associated with SBP (e.g., -2.3 mmHg; 95% CI: -4.4, -0.2 for a 13.5-ppb increase during the 90 days before birth). Conclusions: Exposures to PM2.5 and BC in late pregnancy were positively associated with newborn SBP, whereas O3 was negatively associated with SBP. Longitudinal follow-up will enable us to assess the implications of these findings for health during later childhood and adulthood. Citation: van Rossem L, Rifas-Shiman SL, Melly SJ, Kloog I, Luttmann-Gibson H, Zanobetti A, Coull BA, Schwartz JD, Mittleman MA, Oken E, Gillman MW, Koutrakis P, Gold DR. 2015. Prenatal air pollution exposure and newborn blood pressure. Environ Health Perspect 123:353-359; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307419 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A number of studies have shown associations between chronic exposure to particulate air pollution and increased mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease, but fewer studies have examined the association between long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution and specific cardiovascular events, such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Objective: We examined how long-term exposure to area particulate matter affects the onset of AMI, and we distinguished between area and local pollutants. Methods: Building on the Worcester Heart Attack Study, an ongoing community-wide investigation examining changes over time in myocardial infarction incidence in greater Worcester, Massachusetts, we conducted a case–control study of 4,467 confirmed cases of AMI diagnosed between 1995 and 2003 and 9,072 matched controls selected from Massachusetts resident lists. We used a prediction model based on satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements to generate both exposure to particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) at the area level (10 × 10 km) and the local level (100 m) based on local land use variables. We then examined the association between area and local particulate pollution and occurrence of AMI. Results: An interquartile range (IQR) increase in area PM2.5 (0.59 μg/m3) was associated with a 16% increase in the odds of AMI (95% CI: 1.04, 1.29). An IQR increase in total PM2.5 (area + local, 1.05 μg/m3) was weakly associated with a 4% increase in the odds of AMI (95% CI: 0.96, 1.11). Conclusions: Residential exposure to PM2.5 may best be represented by a combination of area and local PM2.5, and it is important to consider spatial gradients within a single metropolitan area when examining the relationship between particulate matter exposure and cardiovascular events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]