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Acute effects of fine particulate matter constituents on cardiopulmonary function in a panel of COPD patients
Lu Zhou1, Yingmin Tao2, Huichu Li3
1Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Background:
Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been linked with adverse cardiorespiratory health conditions. However, evidence for PM2.5 constituents is still scarce, especially among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Objective:
To investigate the associations of short-term exposure to different chemical constituents of PM2.5 with measures of cardiac and lung function in COPD patients.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective panel study among 100 COPD patients who received repeated measures of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in Shanghai, China from August 2014 to September 2019. Daily PM2.5 and PM2.5 constituents were obtained from fixed-site monitoring station. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the associations of PM2.5.
Results:
We found water-soluble ions of PM2.5, mainly NO3-, SO42-, and NH4+ were robustly associated with reduced LVEF, and the reductions in LVEF associated with an IQR increase of them ranged from 1.8% to 2.0% (lag 1 d). Metal constituents such as Cu and As were associated with FEV1, FVC and PEF. The corresponding reductions in lung function parameters for an IQR increase of them ranged from 1.4% to 2.3% (lag 0 or 1 d). These associations remained relatively robust after adjusting for total PM2.5 mass and gaseous pollutants.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that water-soluble ions and several metal/metalloid elements might be important constituents in PM2.5 that were associated with reduced cardiorespiratory function among COPD patients.
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