Introduction: Systemic inflammation may be one of the mechanisms mediating the association between ambient air pollution and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and fibrinogen are biomarkers of systemic inflammation that are independent risk factors for cardio-vascular disease.

Objective: We investigated the association between ambient air pollution and systemic inflammation using baseline measurements of IL-6 and fibrinogen from controlled human exposure studies.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis we used repeated-measures data in 45 nonsmoking subjects. Hourly and daily moving averages were calculated for ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter
Results: We observed a positive association between IL-6 and O3 [0.31 SD per O3 interquartile range (IQR); 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.080.54] and between IL-6 and SO2 (0.25 SD per SO2 IQR; 95% CI, 0.060.43). We observed the strongest effects using 4-day moving averages. Responses to pollutants varied by season and tended to be higher in the summer, particularly for O3 and PM2.5. Fibrinogen was not associated with pollution.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates a significant association between ambient pollutant levels and baseline levels of systemic IL-6. These findings have potential implications for controlled human exposure studies. Future research should consider whether ambient pollution exposure before chamber exposure modifies IL-6 response.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831955PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.0900550DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

ambient air
12
air pollution
12
il-6 fibrinogen
12
systemic inflammation
12
controlled human
8
human exposure
8
association ambient
8
baseline repeated
4
repeated measures
4
measures controlled
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!