Exposure to ultrafine particles and oral flora, respiratory function, and biomarkers of inflammation: A panel study in children

Hongjin Li; Dong Xu; Huichu Li; Yihan Wu; Yu Cheng; Zhe Chen; Guanjin Yin; Weidong Wang; Yihui Ge; Yue Niu; Cong Liu; Jing Cai; Haidong Kan; Dedong Yu; Renjie Chen

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116489

Exposure to ultrafine particles and oral flora, respiratory function, and biomarkers of inflammation: A panel study in children

Environ Pollut. 2021 Jan 11:273:116489. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116489. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hongjin Li¹, Dong Xu², Huichu Li³, Yihan Wu¹, Yu Cheng², Zhe Chen², Guanjin Yin¹, Weidong Wang¹, Yihui Ge¹, Yue Niu¹, Cong Liu¹, Jing Cai¹, Haidong Kan¹, Dedong Yu⁴, Renjie Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and NHC Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
² Xuhui District Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Shanghai, 200237, China.
³ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁴ Department of 2nd Dental Center, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Shanghai, China.
⁵ School of Public Health, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of the Ministry of Education and NHC Key Lab of Health Technology Assessment, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Shanghai Typhoon Institute/CMA, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Meteorology and Health, Shanghai, 200030, China. Electronic address: chenrenjie@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 33485003
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116489

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) is the most important air pollution problem that leads to substantial health effects. However, very few studies focused on the effects of ultrafine particles (UFPs, particles< 0.1 μm) on children respiratory health. We performed a panel study with 3 rounds of follow-up among 65 pupils at the Elementary School Affiliated to Shanghai Normal University in China from November 2018 to June 2019. Real-time concentrations of UFPs were measured in the campus. In each visit, we detected biomarkers in saliva and microflora in buccal mucosa, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and lung function. We applied a linear mixed-effect (LME) model to examine the associations of UFPs and each health outcome. We found increased levels of FeNO and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and reduced lung function in association with higher UFP exposure. For each interquartile range increase of UFPs, the largest changes were found in lag 0-72 h for forced vital capacity [-69.02 ml (95% CI: -114.20, -23.84)], TNF-α [13.41 pg/ml (95% CI: 7.08, 19.73)], and FeNO [26.85% (95% CI: 11.84%, 43.88%)]. UFP exposure was associated with reduced diversity in buccal microflora with largest reduction in lag 0-72 h [12.24 (95% CI: 7.76, 16.71) for Ace index; 8.78 (95% CI: 2.96, 14.60) for Chao1 index]. UFP exposure was also associated with increased Streptococcus, Gemella, and decreased Actinomyces. Short-term UFP exposures may impair the respiratory system by inducing inflammation, decreasing lung function and attenuating buccal microbe diversity in children.

Keywords: Microbiota; Panel study; Respiratory system; Ultrafine particles.