gms | German Medical Science

54. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie e.V. (GMDS)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie

07. bis 10.09.2009, Essen

Short-term Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Vascular Reactivity in Diabetic Patients

Meeting Abstract

  • Barbara Hoffmann - Universität Duisburg-Essen and Harvard School of Public Health, Essen, Boston
  • Heike Luttmann-Gibson - Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
  • Allison Cohen - Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston
  • Helen Suh - Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
  • Brent Coull - Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
  • Joel Schwartz - Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
  • Osama Hamdy - Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston
  • Chris Foley - Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
  • Peter Stone - Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
  • Edward Horton - Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston
  • Diane Gold - Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Boston

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie. 54. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Medizinische Informatik, Biometrie und Epidemiologie (gmds). Essen, 07.-10.09.2009. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2009. Doc09gmds052

doi: 10.3205/09gmds052, urn:nbn:de:0183-09gmds0524

Published: September 2, 2009

© 2009 Hoffmann et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

Text

Background: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been associated with physiologic and inflammatory changes related to vascular dysfunction. People with diabetes might be more vulnerable to the cardiovascular effects of air pollution. We examined whether short-term exposure to fine particles is associated with vascular endothelial function and arterial stiffness in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: We conducted a repeated measures study in 37 subjects with T2DM in Boston, Massachusetts, from September 2006 until December 2008. Hourly central site measurements of PM2.5, sulfate, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), particle number and meteorological variables were performed. We applied linear mixed models with random participant intercepts to investigate the association of different short-term lags and averaging times of air pollutants with ultrasound-derived brachial artery diameter, flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of endothelial function, and augmentation index (AI), a measure of arterial stiffness assessed by pulse-wave analysis.

Results: PM2.5 and OC were consistently associated with a decrease in baseline arterial diameter. A 1.45 µg/m3 increase (inter-quartile range) in OC and a 3.97 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 in the 3-day mean prior to the examination were associated with a -0.091 mm (95% CI -0.169 to -0.014 mm) and a -0.073 mm (95% CI -0.120 to -0.025 mm) decrease, respectively, in baseline diameter. AI increased with 3-day mean BC and particle number exposure. FMD changes were less consistently associated with PM.

Conclusions: Levels of ambient fine PM air pollution commonly encountered in urban areas are associated with vasoconstriction and an increase in augmentation index in subjects with T2DM.

This work is supported by funding from the NIEHS (PO1 ES-09825, RD-83241601) and the US EPA (R832416)