Associations of Particulate Matter Sizes and Chemical Constituents with Blood Lipids: A Panel Study in Guangzhou, China

Environ Sci Technol. 2021 Apr 20;55(8):5065-5075. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c06974. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Abstract

Existing evidence is scarce concerning the various effects of different PM sizes and chemical constituents on blood lipids. A panel study that involved 88 healthy college students with five repeated measurements (440 blood samples in total) was performed. We measured mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), ≤1.0 μm (PM1.0), and ≤0.5 μm (PM0.5) as well as number concentrations of particulate matter with diameters ≤ 0.2 μm (PN0.2) and ≤0.1 μm (PN0.1). We applied linear mixed-effect models to assess the associations between short-term exposure to different PM size fractions and PM2.5 constituents and seven lipid metrics. We found significant associations of greater concentrations of PM in different size fractions within 5 days before blood collection with lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein A (ApoA1) levels, higher apolipoprotein B (ApoB) levels, and lower ApoA1/ApoB ratios. Among the PM2.5 constituents, we observed that higher concentrations of tin and lead were significantly associated with decreased HDL-C levels, and higher concentrations of nickel were associated with higher HDL-C levels. Our results suggest that short-term exposure to PM in different sizes was deleteriously associated with blood lipids. Some constituents, especially metals, might be the major contributors to the detrimental effects.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants* / analysis
  • Air Pollution* / analysis
  • China
  • Environmental Exposure / analysis
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Lipids
  • Particulate Matter / analysis

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Lipids
  • Particulate Matter