Exposure to air pollution might decrease bone mineral density and increase the prevalence of osteoporosis: a...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Bone Metabolism
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Osteoporosis prevalence is rising globally due to population aging.
• Observational studies suggest a link between air pollution and reduced bone mineral density (BMD).
• Air pollution may be an emerging risk factor for osteoporosis development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal effect of air pollution on total-body BMD.
• To utilize Mendelian randomization to assess the relationship between air pollutants and bone health.

Main Methods:

• Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using publicly available GWAS data.
• Inverse variance weighting (IVW) as the primary method for effect estimation.
• Sensitivity analyses including weighted median, MR-Egger, and mode-based methods to ensure result robustness.

Main Results:

• Causal association found between nitrogen oxides exposure and reduced total-body BMD (β = -0.55, P = 0.002).
• Causal association found between PM2.5 exposure and reduced total-body BMD (β = -0.33, P = 0.010).
• No significant associations were observed for PM2.5-10, PM10, or nitrogen dioxide with total-body BMD.

Conclusions:

• Exposure to nitrogen oxides and PM2.5 is causally linked to decreased total-body BMD.
• This finding identifies air pollution as a significant risk factor for osteoporosis.
• Results support targeted public health interventions to mitigate air pollution and prevent osteoporosis.