Association of SO2/CO exposure and greenness with high blood pressure in children and adolescents: A longitudinal study in China

Abstract

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the association between greenness around schools, long-term gaseous air pollution exposure (SO₂ and CO), and blood pressure in children and adolescents.

Methods: From 2006 to 2018, a total of 219,956 Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-17 years in Beijing and Zhongshan were included in this longitudinal study. Annual average concentrations of SO₂ and CO and the mean values of normalized difference vegetation index around schools were calculated. We used the generalized estimation equation model, restricted cubic spline model, and Cox model to analyze the health effects.

Results: Among all the subjects, 52,515 had the first onset of HBP. During the follow-up, HBP's cumulative incidence and incidence density were 23.88% and 7.72 per 100 person-year respectively. Exposures to SO₂ and CO were significantly associated with SBP [β = 1.30, 95% CI: (1.26, 1.34) and 0.78 (0.75, 0.81)], DBP [β = 0.81 (0.79, 0.84) and 0.46 (0.44, 0.48)] and HBP [HR = 1.58 (1.57, 1.60) and 1.42 (1.41, 1.43)]. The risks of HBP attributed to SO₂ and CO pollution would be higher in school-aged children in the low greenness group: the attributable fractions (AFs) were 26.31% and 20.04%, but only 13.90% and 17.81% in the higher greenness group. The AFs were also higher for normal-BMI children and adolescents in the low greenness group (AFs = 30.90% and 22.64%, but 14.41% and 18.65% in the high greenness group), while the AFs were not as high as expected for obese children in the low greenness group (AFs = 10.64% and 8.61%), nor was it significantly lower in the high greenness group (AFs = 9.60% and 10.72%).

Discussion: Greenness could alleviate the damage effects of SO₂/CO exposure on the risks of HBP among children and adolescents, and the benefit is BMI sensitivity. It might offer insights for policymakers in making effective official interventions to prevent and control the prevalence of childhood HBP and the future disease burden caused by air pollution.

Keywords: blood pressure; body mass index; carbon monoxide; greenness; sulfur dioxide.