[Air pollution and heart rhythm disturbance: A retrospective study]

According to many studies, exposure to air pollution increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It has also been shown that the frequency of heart rhythm disorders in Region wallonne is very high.

The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis of a link between rhythm disorders measured by cardiac holters and data from devices measuring the concentration of air pollutants present in ambient air.

The health data were obtained via the Erasme hospital's cardiology center. This is a retrospective data collection over the last 2 to 5 years. The environmental data are: PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3 and temperature. The statistical models were based on "cross-case" analyses.

An association between PM10 and the number of ESAs was observed. An increase of 10μg/m³ of PM10 increases the number of ESAs by 20% (P=0.040). The number of ESAs increases with age (63% more ESAs when age increases by 10 years). A history of intervention also decreases the number of ESAs (-35%), the same phenomenon is observed for pacemaker wearers (-66%). The strongest association observed between NO2 and ESA with an OR of 1.37 (P=0.027) in the final model. No significant association was observed between the effects of air pollution and VPCs.

Our analyses resume the effects of the different pollutants on rhythm disorders, the effects adjusted for treatment and co-morbidities. They open the door to other more refined studies based on individual measurements.