Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)

Background: Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase blood pressure (BP) and induce hypertension. However, evidence supporting these associations is limited, and they may be confounded by exposure to traffic noise and biased due to inappropriate control for use of BP-lowering...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984-; Basagaña Flores, Xavier; Aguilera Jiménez, Inmaculada, 1977-; Rivera, Marcela, 1982-; Agis, David; Bouso, Laura; Deltell, Alexandre; Marrugat, Jaume, 1954-; Ramos, Rafel; Sunyer Deu, Jordi; Vila, Joan; Elosua Llanos, Roberto; Künzli, Nino
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2014
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/23393
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/23393
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306497
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Aire -- Contaminació -- Efectes fisiològics -- Epidemiologia
Hipertensió
_version_ 1878734373378850816
author Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984-
author2 Basagaña Flores, Xavier
Aguilera Jiménez, Inmaculada, 1977-
Rivera, Marcela, 1982-
Agis, David
Bouso, Laura
Deltell, Alexandre
Marrugat, Jaume, 1954-
Ramos, Rafel
Sunyer Deu, Jordi
Vila, Joan
Elosua Llanos, Roberto
Künzli, Nino
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author_browse Agis, David
Aguilera Jiménez, Inmaculada, 1977-
Basagaña Flores, Xavier
Bouso, Laura
Deltell, Alexandre
Elosua Llanos, Roberto
Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984-
Künzli, Nino
Marrugat, Jaume, 1954-
Ramos, Rafel
Rivera, Marcela, 1982-
Sunyer Deu, Jordi
Vila, Joan
author_facet Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984-
Basagaña Flores, Xavier
Aguilera Jiménez, Inmaculada, 1977-
Rivera, Marcela, 1982-
Agis, David
Bouso, Laura
Deltell, Alexandre
Marrugat, Jaume, 1954-
Ramos, Rafel
Sunyer Deu, Jordi
Vila, Joan
Elosua Llanos, Roberto
Künzli, Nino
author_role author
collection Repositorio Digital de la UPF
description Background: Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase blood pressure (BP) and induce hypertension. However, evidence supporting these associations is limited, and they may be confounded by exposure to traffic noise and biased due to inappropriate control for use of BP-lowering medications. Objectives: We evaluated the associations of long-term traffic-related air pollution with BP and prevalent hypertension, adjusting for transportation noise and assessing different methodologies to control for BP-lowering medications. Methods: We measured systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) at baseline (years 2003–2005) in 3,700 participants, 35–83 years of age, from a population-based cohort in Spain. We estimated home outdoor annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with a land-use regression model. We used multivariate linear and logistic regression. Results: A 10-μg/m3 increase in NO2 levels was associated with 1.34 mmHg (95% CI: 0.14, 2.55) higher SBP in nonmedicated individuals, after adjusting for transportation noise. Results were similar in the entire population after adjusting for medication, as commonly done, but weaker when other methods were used to account for medication use. For example, when 10 mmHg were added to the measured SBP levels of medicated participants, the association was β = 0.78 (95% CI: –0.43, 2.00). NO2 was not associated with hypertension. Associations of NO2 with SBP and DBP were stronger in participants with cardiovascular disease, and the association with SBP was stronger in those exposed to high traffic density and traffic noise levels ≥ 55 dB(A). Conclusions: We observed a positive association between long-term exposure to NO2 and SBP, after adjustment for transportation noise, which was sensitive to the methodology used to account for medication.
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
format article
id ES_68c28fa4edbbf36ea3aa5f777fbb1f0e
institution Universitat Pompeu Fabra
instname_str Universitat Pompeu Fabra
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
oai_identifier_str oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/23393
publishDate 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
publisherStr National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
spelling Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study) Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984- Basagaña Flores, Xavier Aguilera Jiménez, Inmaculada, 1977- Rivera, Marcela, 1982- Agis, David Bouso, Laura Deltell, Alexandre Marrugat, Jaume, 1954- Ramos, Rafel Sunyer Deu, Jordi Vila, Joan Elosua Llanos, Roberto Künzli, Nino Aire -- Contaminació -- Efectes fisiològics -- Epidemiologia Hipertensió Background: Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase blood pressure (BP) and induce hypertension. However, evidence supporting these associations is limited, and they may be confounded by exposure to traffic noise and biased due to inappropriate control for use of BP-lowering medications. Objectives: We evaluated the associations of long-term traffic-related air pollution with BP and prevalent hypertension, adjusting for transportation noise and assessing different methodologies to control for BP-lowering medications. Methods: We measured systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) at baseline (years 2003–2005) in 3,700 participants, 35–83 years of age, from a population-based cohort in Spain. We estimated home outdoor annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with a land-use regression model. We used multivariate linear and logistic regression. Results: A 10-μg/m3 increase in NO2 levels was associated with 1.34 mmHg (95% CI: 0.14, 2.55) higher SBP in nonmedicated individuals, after adjusting for transportation noise. Results were similar in the entire population after adjusting for medication, as commonly done, but weaker when other methods were used to account for medication use. For example, when 10 mmHg were added to the measured SBP levels of medicated participants, the association was β = 0.78 (95% CI: –0.43, 2.00). NO2 was not associated with hypertension. Associations of NO2 with SBP and DBP were stronger in participants with cardiovascular disease, and the association with SBP was stronger in those exposed to high traffic density and traffic noise levels ≥ 55 dB(A). Conclusions: We observed a positive association between long-term exposure to NO2 and SBP, after adjustment for transportation noise, which was sensitive to the methodology used to account for medication. This study was supported by funding from Marató 081632, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Pilot Project Funds 2009; Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP) Pilot Project Funds 2008 (AA08_15); Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII): Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) PI060258, Red de Investigación Cardiovascular–Programa Heracles RD 12/0042, Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud (RedIAPP) RD 06/0018, and a fellowship to M.F.; Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail (ANSES) CREAL 0966C0331 for the “Projet Tri-national Trafic, Air, Bruit et Santé” (TRI-TABS) study; and the Young Researchers Exchange Programme of the European Network on Noise and Health (ENNAH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) http://hdl.handle.net/10230/23393 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306497
spellingShingle Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
Foraster Pulido, Maria, 1984-
Aire -- Contaminació -- Efectes fisiològics -- Epidemiologia
Hipertensió
status_str publishedVersion
title Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
title_full Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
title_fullStr Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
title_full_unstemmed Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
title_short Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
title_sort Association of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution with blood pressure and hypertension in an adult population-based cohort in Spain (the REGICOR study)
topic Aire -- Contaminació -- Efectes fisiològics -- Epidemiologia
Hipertensió
topic_facet Aire -- Contaminació -- Efectes fisiològics -- Epidemiologia
Hipertensió
url http://hdl.handle.net/10230/23393
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306497