Acute effects of fine particulate matter constituents on cardiopulmonary function in a panel of COPD patients

Lu Zhou; Yingmin Tao; Huichu Li; Yue Niu; Liang Li; Haidong Kan; Juan Xie; Renjie Chen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144753

Acute effects of fine particulate matter constituents on cardiopulmonary function in a panel of COPD patients

Sci Total Environ. 2021 May 20:770:144753. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144753. Epub 2021 Jan 17.

Authors

Lu Zhou¹, Yingmin Tao², Huichu Li³, Yue Niu⁴, Liang Li⁵, Haidong Kan⁶, Juan Xie⁷, Renjie Chen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: 20211020040@fudan.edu.cn.
² Division of General Practice, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: taoyingmin@5thhospital.com.
³ Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: huichuli@g.harvard.edu.
⁴ Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: niuy17@fudan.edu.cn.
⁵ Division of General Practice, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: liliang@5thhospital.com.
⁶ Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: kanh@fudan.edu.cn.
⁷ Division of General Practice, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: xiejuan@5thhospital.com.
⁸ Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: chenrenjie@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 33515878
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144753

Abstract

Background: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has been linked with adverse cardiorespiratory health conditions. However, evidence for PM_2.5 constituents is still scarce, especially among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objective: To investigate the associations of short-term exposure to different chemical constituents of PM_2.5 with measures of cardiac and lung function in COPD patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective panel study among 100 COPD patients who received repeated measures of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁), forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) in Shanghai, China from August 2014 to September 2019. Daily PM_2.5 and PM_2.5 constituents were obtained from fixed-site monitoring station. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the associations of PM_2.5.

Results: We found water-soluble ions of PM_2.5, mainly NO₃^-, SO₄^2-, and NH₄⁺ were robustly associated with reduced LVEF, and the reductions in LVEF associated with an IQR increase of them ranged from 1.8% to 2.0% (lag 1 d). Metal constituents such as Cu and As were associated with FEV₁, FVC and PEF. The corresponding reductions in lung function parameters for an IQR increase of them ranged from 1.4% to 2.3% (lag 0 or 1 d). These associations remained relatively robust after adjusting for total PM_2.5 mass and gaseous pollutants.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that water-soluble ions and several metal/metalloid elements might be important constituents in PM_2.5 that were associated with reduced cardiorespiratory function among COPD patients.

Keywords: COPD; Cardiopulmonary function; Fine particulate matter constituents; Panel study.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / adverse effects
Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / adverse effects
China / epidemiology
Environmental Exposure / analysis
Humans
Particulate Matter / adverse effects
Particulate Matter / analysis
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive*
Retrospective Studies
Stroke Volume
Ventricular Function, Left

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter