TY - JOUR
T1 - Air pollution exposure and telomere length in highly exposed subjects in Beijing, China
T2 - A repeated-measure study
AU - Hou, Lifang
AU - Wang, Sheng
AU - Dou, Chang
AU - Zhang, Xiao
AU - Yu, Yue
AU - Zheng, Yinan
AU - Avula, Umakanth
AU - Hoxha, Mirjam
AU - Díaz, Anaité
AU - McCracken, John
AU - Barretta, Francesco
AU - Marinelli, Barbara
AU - Bertazzi, Pier Alberto
AU - Schwartz, Joel
AU - Baccarelli, Andrea A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the NIEHS ( ES00002 and R21ES020010 ), and the Harvard EPA Center ( RD 83479801 ).
PY - 2012/11/1
Y1 - 2012/11/1
N2 - Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with short- and long-term effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of CVD risk that is modified by inflammation and oxidative stress, two key pathways for PM effects. Whether PM exposure modifies TL is largely unexplored. Objectives: To investigate effects of PM on blood TL in a highly-exposed population. Methods: We measured blood TL in 120 blood samples from truck drivers and 120 blood samples from office workers in Beijing, China. We measured personal PM2.5 and Elemental Carbon (EC, a tracer of traffic particles) using light-weight monitors. Ambient PM10 was obtained from local monitoring stations. We used covariate-adjusted regression models to estimate percent changes in TL per an interquartile-range increase in exposure. Results: Covariate-adjusted TL was higher in drivers (mean=0.87, 95%CI: 0.74; 1.03) than in office workers (mean=0.79, 95%CI: 0.67; 0.93; p=0.001). In all participants combined, TL increased in association with personal PM2.5 (+5.2%, 95%CI: 1.5; 9.1; p=0.007), personal EC (+4.9%, 95%CI: 1.2; 8.8; p=0.01), and ambient PM10 (+7.7%, 95%CI: 3.7; 11.9; p<0.001) on examination days. In contrast, average ambient PM10 over the 14days before the examinations was significantly associated with shorter TL (-9.9%, 95%CI: -17.6; -1.5; p=0.02). Conclusions: Short-term exposure to ambient PM is associated with increased blood TL, consistent with TL roles during acute inflammatory responses. Longer exposures may shorten TL as expected after prolonged pro-oxidant exposures. The observed TL alterations may participate in the biological pathways of short- and long-term PM effects.
AB - Background: Ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with short- and long-term effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of CVD risk that is modified by inflammation and oxidative stress, two key pathways for PM effects. Whether PM exposure modifies TL is largely unexplored. Objectives: To investigate effects of PM on blood TL in a highly-exposed population. Methods: We measured blood TL in 120 blood samples from truck drivers and 120 blood samples from office workers in Beijing, China. We measured personal PM2.5 and Elemental Carbon (EC, a tracer of traffic particles) using light-weight monitors. Ambient PM10 was obtained from local monitoring stations. We used covariate-adjusted regression models to estimate percent changes in TL per an interquartile-range increase in exposure. Results: Covariate-adjusted TL was higher in drivers (mean=0.87, 95%CI: 0.74; 1.03) than in office workers (mean=0.79, 95%CI: 0.67; 0.93; p=0.001). In all participants combined, TL increased in association with personal PM2.5 (+5.2%, 95%CI: 1.5; 9.1; p=0.007), personal EC (+4.9%, 95%CI: 1.2; 8.8; p=0.01), and ambient PM10 (+7.7%, 95%CI: 3.7; 11.9; p<0.001) on examination days. In contrast, average ambient PM10 over the 14days before the examinations was significantly associated with shorter TL (-9.9%, 95%CI: -17.6; -1.5; p=0.02). Conclusions: Short-term exposure to ambient PM is associated with increased blood TL, consistent with TL roles during acute inflammatory responses. Longer exposures may shorten TL as expected after prolonged pro-oxidant exposures. The observed TL alterations may participate in the biological pathways of short- and long-term PM effects.
KW - China
KW - Particulate matter
KW - Personal monitoring
KW - Telomere length
KW - Traffic pollution
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U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2012.06.020
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2012.06.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 22871507
AN - SCOPUS:84864527029
SN - 0160-4120
VL - 48
SP - 71
EP - 77
JO - Environment international
JF - Environment international
ER -