Joint exposure to air pollution, ambient temperature and residential greenness and their association with metabolic syndrome (MetS): A large population-based study among Chinese adults

Shiyu Feng; Qiong Meng; Bing Guo; Yuming Guo; Gongbo Chen; Yongyue Pan; Jing Zhou; Pengcuociren; Jingru Xu; Qibing Zeng; Jing Wei; Huan Xu; Lin Chen; Chunmei Zeng; Xing Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113699

Joint exposure to air pollution, ambient temperature and residential greenness and their association with metabolic syndrome (MetS): A large population-based study among Chinese adults

Environ Res. 2022 Nov;214(Pt 1):113699. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113699. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

Authors

Shiyu Feng¹, Qiong Meng², Bing Guo¹, Yuming Guo³, Gongbo Chen⁴, Yongyue Pan⁵, Jing Zhou⁶, Pengcuociren⁷, Jingru Xu⁸, Qibing Zeng⁹, Jing Wei¹⁰, Huan Xu¹, Lin Chen¹, Chunmei Zeng¹, Xing Zhao¹¹

Affiliations

¹ West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
² Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, China.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
⁵ School of Medicine, Tibet University, China.
⁶ Chenghua District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China.
⁷ Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Tibet, China.
⁸ Chongqing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China.
⁹ School of Public Health, The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.
¹⁰ Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
¹¹ West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: xingzhao@scu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35714687
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113699

Abstract

Previous studies assessing adverse health have traditionally focused on a single environmental exposure, failing to reflect the reality of various exposures present simultaneously. Air pollution, ambient temperature and greenness have been proposed as critical environmental factors associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, evidence exploring their joint relationships with MetS is needed for identifying interactive factors and developing more targeted public health interventions. The baseline data was obtained from China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC). Environmental data of air pollutants (PM_2.5, O₃) and NDVI for greenness was calculated from satellites data. Ambient temperature data were obtained from European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). MetS was classified based on National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) using anthropometric measures and biomarkers. Logistic regression models were utilized to examine the combined relationship of MetS with three-year exposure to air pollutants, temperature and NDVI. Relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was calculated to evaluate interaction on an additive scale. We found associations between prevalent MetS and interquartile range (IQR) increases in PM_2.5 (OR: 1.38; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.23, 1.55) and O₃ (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.22). Additive and multiplicative interactions were observed between air pollutants and temperature exposure. Compared to low-temperature level, the relationship between PM_2.5 and MetS attenuated (RERI: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.44, -0.04) at high-temperature level, while the relationship between O₃ and MetS enhanced (RERI: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.11). At low NDVI 250 m, the association between PM_2.5 and MetS was stronger (RERI: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.19) with high NDVI 250 m as the reference group. Our findings showed that ambient temperature and residential greenness could affect the relationship between air pollutants and MetS.

Keywords: Air pollution; China multi-Ethnic cohort; Greenness; Interaction; Metabolic syndrome; Temperature.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Air Pollutants*
Air Pollution*
China
Environmental Exposure
Humans
Metabolic Syndrome*
Particulate Matter
Temperature

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter