Impacts of long-term ambient particulate matter and gaseous pollutants on circulating biomarkers of inflammation in male and female health professionals

Systemic inflammation may serve as a biological mechanism linking air pollution to poor health but supporting evidence from studies of long-term pollutant exposure and inflammatory cytokines is inconsistent.We studied associations between multiple particulate matter (PM) and gaseous air pollutants and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines within two nationwide cohorts of men and women.Data were obtained from 16,151 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 7,930 men in the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study with at least one measure of circulating adiponectin, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) or soluble tumor necrosis-factor receptor-2 (sTNFR-2). Exposure to PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5, 2.5-10, and ≤10 μm (PMIn adjusted models, we observed a 2.72% (95% CI: 0.43%, 5.95%), 3.11% (-0.12%, 6.45%), and 3.67% (0.19%, 7.26%) increase in CRP associated with a 10 μg/mAcross multiple long-term pollutant exposures and inflammatory markers, associations were generally weak. Focusing on specific pollutant-inflammatory mechanisms may clarify pathways.