Inflammatory markers in relation to long-term air pollution.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Immunology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Ambient air pollution is linked to chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular conditions.
• Systemic inflammation is a suspected mechanism behind these pollution-induced health effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between long-term exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) and blood markers of systemic inflammation.
• To compare these effects across cohorts in Italy and Sweden with differing pollution levels.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 28 inflammatory markers in blood samples from 587 individuals in a prospective study.
• Utilized European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) data for long-term NOx exposure estimates.
• Applied linear mixed models to assess associations, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

• Long-term NOx exposure was associated with reduced levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-α in Italy.
• No significant associations were found in the Swedish cohort, which had substantially lower NOx levels.
• A combined analysis revealed a significant association only between NOx exposure and decreased IL-8 levels.

Conclusions:

• Long-term exposure to nitrogen oxides shows potential to perturb systemic inflammatory markers.
• Observed effects were stronger in the Italian cohort compared to the Swedish cohort, suggesting a dose-response relationship related to air pollution levels.