Long-term exposure to particulate air pollution and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in the Old Order Amish

Background Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has been associated with endothelial dysfunction, an early marker of cardiovascular risk. Our aim was to extend this research to a genetically homogenous, geographically stable rural population using location-specific moving-average air pollution exposure estimates indexed to the date of endothelial function measurement. Methods We measured endothelial function using brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in 615 community-dwelling healthy Amish participants. Exposures to PM