Prolonged Exposure to Pollution Increases the Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is hard to think of anything else that might be affecting worldwide health, particularly in China. As a topic, pollution (especially by fine particulate matter, PM2.5) has been relegated these days. At the same time, however, the preventive closing of many factories in China due to the new coronavirus made evident the extent to which putting out chimneys improves air quality.

The aim of this study was to assess the long-term cardiovascular effect associated with the exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in China.

Researchers studied a cohort from the China-PAR (Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China) study, composed of 116,972 adults without cardiovascular disease in 2000, at the time of enrollment. Subjects were followed until 2015. Exposure was assessed through satellite measurements 1 km around each person. The risk for PM2.5 exposure was adjusted with other individual risk factors.

Annual mean concentrations of PM2.5 at the Chinese cities studied ranged from 25.5 to 114 μg/m3 (the concentrations for the main Latin American capitals average 40 to 50 μg/m3).

For each 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure, there were 1164 additional cardiovascular deaths. As expected, the concentration-response slope became steeper with increased concentrations.

Read als: ECS Guidelines for COVID-19 Management.

Older patients, rural residents, and never smokers were more prone to cardiovascular events associated with the exposure to fine particulate matter.

Conclusion

This study provides solid evidence that prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. The higher the exposure, the higher the risk. These findings expand our knowledge on the importance of air quality, its impact on health, and the possibility of improvement in this area.

Original title: Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter and Cardiovascular Disease in China.

Reference: Fengchao Liang et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020;75:707–17.

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