Cardiopulmonary effects of short-term ambient PM2.5 exposure: central air quality monitor data versus personal exposure models
On this page:
Objective: Outdoor ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) data from air quality monitors (AQM) is usually used in epidemiological studies for investigating short-term effects. But personal exposure can also be predicted by exposure models for individuals (EMI), in our case by estimating five tiers of individual-level exposure metrics for PM2.5 using outdoor concentrations, questionnaires, weather, and time-location information. In this study, we compared these two metrices in a panel study by evaluating the association between short-term PM2.5 exposure and cardiopulmonary effects. Material and Methods: 28 healthy participants underwent three to five testing sessions at the U.S. EPA Human Studies Facility in Chapel Hill, NC between October 2016 and September 2019. At each session, lung function, coagulation markers, and oxidative stress marker oxidized LDL (oxLDL) were measured. 24-hour average PM2.5 levels were derived from AQM and EMI. Associations between ambient PM2.5 and cardiopulmonary markers were assessed by linear mixed effect models for an interquartile range increase in PM2.5. Results: We found that EMI and AQM displayed strong positive correlation for PM2.5 levels (r = 0.92). The average levels of PM2.5 during the study period was 9.7±3.6 μg/m3 for AQM and 6.2±2.5 μg/m3 for EMI. Generally, associations between PM2.5 and most health outcomes were null in this study. Except oxLDLs were positively associated with PM2.5 at lag1 day for both EMI [11.33%(95%CI: 6.03% to 16.64%)] and AQM [8.58%(95%CI: 4.36% to 12.80%)]. PM2.5 was also positively associated with von Willebrand Factor (vWF) at lag0 day for both AQM [5.89%(95%CI: 1.80% to 9.98%)] and EMI [6.81%(95%CI: 2.31% to 11.31%)]. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that AQM and EMI were generally similar across health outcomes in response to short-term PM2.5 exposure. In addition, PM2.5 was associated with elevated levels of oxLDLs and vWF with implications for cardiovascular risk. THIS ABSTRACT OF A PROPOSED PRESENTATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT EPA POLICY.