24.07.2012

News from the SAPALDIA Study: Long-term exposure to traffic-related PM10 and decreased heart rate variability: an association potentially restricted to subjects taking ACE inhibitors

There is consistent epidemiological evidence of an effect of traffic-related exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Associations with mortality have shown to be much stronger with exposures experienced over a few years, indicating a contribution of PM to chronic pathologies. An improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms related to the health effects of specific air pollution components is of great importance for the implementation of effective public health measures.

The present findings from the SAPALDIA cohort show that long-term exposure to traffic-related particulate matter (TPM10) was not associated with alterations in the autonomic control of the cardiac rhythm in middle-aged to elderly persons from the general population or persons with self-reported heart disease. But the findings provide suggestive evidence that participants under ACE inhibitor treatment may represent a specific subgroup susceptible to the adverse effects of TPM10 on the autonomic regulation of cardiac rhythm. This interesting and novel finding point in a public health relevant manner to the need for longitudinal data to clarify the impact of air pollution on participants treated for hypertension and heart disease.

The analysis is a collaboration of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and researchers from the SAPALDIA study under the lead of  Professor Nicole Probst-Hensch. SAPALDIA is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Link to the article:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2012.06.016

Link to SAPALDIA:
http://www.sapaldia.net/en/

Corresponding Author:

Prof. Dr. Nicole Probst-Hensch
Swiss TPH
Deputy Head of Epidemiology and Public Health Department
Socinstrasse 57
Postfach
4002 Basel, Switzerland
Email: nicole.probstanti spam bot@unibasanti spam bot.ch
Phone +41 61 284 83 78

 

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