Effects of short- and long-term exposures to particulate matter on inflammatory marker levels in the general population

The effect of particulate matter (PM) on health increases with exposure duration but the change from short to longer term is not well studied. We examined the exposure to PM smaller 10 μm (PM₁₀) from short to longer duration and their associations with levels of inflammatory markers in the population-based CoLaus cohort in Lausanne, Switzerland. Baseline and follow-up CoLaus data were used to study the associations between PM₁₀ exposure and inflammatory markers, including the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor-necrosis-factor alpha (TNF-α) using mixed models. Exposure was determined for each participant’s home address from hourly air quality simulations at a 5-m resolution. Short-term exposure intervals were 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month prior to the hospital visit (blood withdrawal); long-term exposure intervals were 3 and 6 months prior to the visit. In most time windows, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α were positively associated with PM₁₀. No significant associations were identified for CRP. Adjusted associations with long-term exposures were stronger and more significant than those for short-term exposures. In stratified models, gender, age, smoking status, and hypertension only led to small modifications in effect estimates, though a few of the estimates for IL-6 and TNF-α became non-significant. In this general adult cohort exposed to relatively low average PM₁₀ levels, clear associations with markers of systemic inflammation were observed. Longer duration of elevated exposure was associated with an exacerbated inflammatory response. This may partially explain the elevated disease risk observed with chronic PM₁₀ exposure. It also suggests that reducing prolonged episodes of high PM exposure may be a strategy to reduce inflammatory risk.