Exposure to air pollution influences children's health, however, the biological mechanisms underlying these effects are not completely elucidated. We investigated the association between short- and medium-term outdoor air pollution exposure with protein profiles and their link with blood pressure in 1170 HELIX children aged 6-11 years. Different air pollutants (NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and PM2.5abs) were estimated based on residential and school addresses at three different windows of exposure (1-day, 1-week, and 1-year before clinical and molecular assessment). Thirty-six proteins, including adipokines, cytokines, or apolipoproteins, were measured in children's plasma using Luminex. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were measured following a standardized protocol. We performed an association study for each air pollutant at each location and time window and each outcome, adjusting for potential confounders. After correcting for multiple-testing, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and interleukin 8 (IL8) levels were positively associated with 1-week home exposure to some of the pollutants (NO2, PM10, or PM2.5). NO2 1-week home exposure was also related to higher SBP. The mediation study suggested that HGF could explain 19% of the short-term effect of NO2 on blood pressure, but other study designs are needed to prove the causal directionality between HGF and blood pressure.
Keywords: Air pollution; Blood pressure; Childhood; Environment; Plasmatic proteins; Short-term effects.
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