Associations between air pollutants and blood pressure in an ethnically diverse cohort of adolescents in London, England

Karamanos, A. et al. (2023) Associations between air pollutants and blood pressure in an ethnically diverse cohort of adolescents in London, England. PLoS ONE, 18(2), e0279719. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279719) (PMID:36753491) (PMCID:PMC9907839)

Abstract

Longitudinal evidence on the association between air pollution and blood pressure (BP) in adolescence is scarce. We explored this association in an ethnically diverse cohort of schoolchildren. Sex-stratified, linear random-effects modelling was used to examine how modelled residential exposure to annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10) and ozone (O3), measures in μg/m3, associated with blood pressure. Estimates were based on 3,284 adolescents; 80% from ethnic minority groups, recruited from 51 schools, and followed up from 11–13 to 14–16 years old. Ethnic minorities were exposed to higher modelled annual average concentrations of pollution at residential postcode level than their White UK peers. A two-pollutant model (NO2 & PM2.5), adjusted for ethnicity, age, anthropometry, and pubertal status, highlighted associations with systolic, but not diastolic BP. A μg/m3 increase in NO2 was associated with a 0.30 mmHg (95% CI 0.18 to 0.40) decrease in systolic BP for girls and 0.19 mmHg (95% CI 0.07 to 0.31) decrease in systolic BP for boys. In contrast, a 1 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with 1.34 mmHg (95% CI 0.85 to 1.82) increase in systolic BP for girls and 0.57 mmHg (95% CI 0.04 to 1.03) increase in systolic BP for boys. Associations did not vary by ethnicity, body size or socio-economic advantage. Associations were robust to adjustments for noise levels and lung function at 11–13 years. In summary, higher ambient levels of NO2 were associated with lower and PM2.5 with higher systolic BP across adolescence, with stronger associations for girls.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Maynard, Dr Maria and Molaodi, Dr Oarabile and Harding, Professor Seeromanie

Creator Roles

Molaodi, O. R.: Formal analysis, Writing – review and editing
Maynard, M. J.: Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Writing – review and editing
Harding, S.: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Karamanos, A., Lu, Y., Mudway, I. S., Ayis, S., Kelly, F. J., Beevers, S. D., Dajnak, D., Fecht, D., Elia, C., Tandon, S., Webb, A. J., Grande, A. J., Molaodi, O. R., Maynard, M. J., Cruickshank, J. K., and Harding, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
• Journal Name: PLoS ONE
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN (Online): 1932-6203
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 Karamanos et al.
• First Published: First published in PLoS ONE 18(2): e0279719
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
65656	1	Ethnicity and health	Seeromanie Harding	Medical Research Council (MRC)	MC_UU_12017/1	HW - MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit
72765	1	Measuring and Analysing Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health	Alastair Leyland	Medical Research Council (MRC)	MC_UU_12017/13	HW - MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit